Donetsk, May 20 - DAN. The President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin awarded the commander of the Sparta battalion, Hero of the DPR Arsen Pavlov (Motorola), who died in 2016, the Order of Courage posthumously.

The decree to award Pavlov was published today on the Official Internet Portal for Legal Information.

According to the decree, the legendary battalion commander was awarded "for courage, valour and dedication revealed in the course of carrying out tasks to ensure the protection of the rights and freedoms of compatriots."

Arseniy Pavlov, a DPR war hero best known in Donbass under his call-sign "Motorola", was killed on October 16th in the blast of an explosive device planted in the hallway of the block of flats in central Donetsk where he lived.

He was born in Komi, northern Russia, in 1983. He lived in Rostov-on-Don. After the war broke out in Donbass in 2104, he became the leader of the Sparta Battalion, fighting against the Kiev junta. *ot