Vladimir Artyomovich
Zhoga
1993-2022
Vladimir Artyomovich Zhogа was the commander of the Sparta Special Reconnaissance Battalion in the armed forces of the Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR), holding the rank of Guards Colonel, and was posthumously awarded the titles of Hero of the Russian Federation and Hero of the DPR. He was born in Donetsk, Ukraine, in 1993, and his family later moved to the nearby city of Sloviansk. After high school, he studied part-time at a local technical college while working with his father, who was involved in the fish trade. In February 2014, an armed coup led to the overthrow of Ukraine’s constitutional government, sparking large-scale protests in southeastern Ukraine against radical nationalist organizations. The Kiev authorities labeled the protesting population of Donbass as “separatists” and launched a prolonged “anti-terrorist” operation. From the early days of the conflict, Vladimir joined the Sloviansk self-defense detachment, and by August 2014, he became part of the Sparta Battalion, a unit within the DPR’s armed forces. He initially served as the driver for the battalion’s first commander, DPR Hero Arsen Pavlov (known as “Motorola”) and later became Pavlov’s deputy, gaining the call sign «Vokha». Zhoga’s comrades described him as a courageous and fearless leader. Throughout the years of conflict in Donbass, he sustained numerous injuries, including four severe ones. After Arsen Pavlov had been killed in a terrorist attack in 2016, Vladimir took command of the Sparta Battalion. Since February 24, 2022, DPR forces, including the Sparta Battalion, were engaged in combat as part of the Russian Armed Forces’ special military operation to defend the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics. On March 5, 2022, during an operation to cover the evacuation of civilians—mainly women and children—from the besieged town of Volnovakha, Sparta battalion scouts came under fire from Ukrainian nationalist forces. In the ensuing attack, Commander Zhoga was mortally wounded. The same day, he was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the DPR by decree of the DPR head. On March 6, 2022, by decree of the President of Russia Vladimir Artyomovich Zhoga was posthumously awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation for bravery and dedication in service to his country. On May 9, 2022, the “Gold Star” medal was presented to Zhoga’s father, Artyom Zhoga, by President Vladimir Putin in the Kremlin. Vladimir Zhoga was buried on March 7, 2022, in Donetsk’s Alley of Heroes at the “Donetsk Sea” cemetery. In his honour, busts of Zhoga were erected in Donetsk’s Alley of Heroes and in Volnovakha. His high relief was placed at the Saur-Mogila memorial in the DPR’s Shakhtyorsky district. His name was given to the Republican Centre for Unmanned Systems in Donetsk and to streets in Volnovakha (DPR), Nevinnomyssk (Stavropol Territory), Maykop (Republic of Adygea), and Volzhsky (Volgograd region). A memorial stele was also erected in his honour in the street named after him in Nevinnomyssk.
Address: Moscow, Victory Park
