Donetsk, Feb 8 - DAN. A commemorative meeting on the second anniversary of the death of Donetsk People’s Republic Hero, Somali unit commander Mikhail Tolstykh gathered more than 2,000 residents in Donetsk on Friday.
The commemorative event held in the Donetskoye More cemetery was attended by DPR Head Denis Pushilin, officials, lawmakers, and relatives and colleagues of the legendary commander “Givi.”
“Two years have passed since the murder of DPR Hero, legendary Somali battalion commander Mikhail Tolstykh,” Pushilin said. “Any act of terror aims to supress people’s will, break them up, intimidate and cause panic.”
“Our enemy hoped to accomplish it, but they erred because we have become stronger. “Givi” is now a legend, and legends do not die,” the DPR leader said.
Mikhail Tolstykh (call sign “Givi”) was born in Ilovaisk in 1980. He had served in the Ukrainian army and joined DPR militia from the very beginning of the conflict. Tolstykh participated in the fighting for Slavyansk, Ilovaisk and the Donetsk Airport.
A DPR hero decorated with two St George Crosses and For Slavyansk Defence medal. Colonel Tolskykh survived several assassination attempts and was wounded several times in combat. He was killed in a terrorist attack at the Somali unit headquarters in Makeyevka on 8 February 2017. The DPR hero was buried in Donetsk. Activists installed memorial plaques on his house and his school in Ilovask.*jk