Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin killed in Ukraine

Well-known Russian opposition activist Ildar Dadin, who joined Ukrainian forces, was killed on the front in the Kharkiv region. The tragedy was reported by the independent portal "Novaya Gazeta.Europe" on Tuesday. Dadin came under artillery fire in the northeast of the country.

Ildar Dadin left Russia for Poland in 2022, just after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Shortly afterward, however, he joined the Ukrainian forces fighting against the Russian army, where most knew him by his military pseudonym "Gandhi."

The first reports of the opposition activist's death appeared on October 5. They were shared by former Echo of Moscow radio journalist, Ksenia Larina, who wrote on social media: "I just learned that Ildar Dadin has died. During the fighting in the Kharkiv region."

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The information about Dadin's death was also confirmed by the "Freedom of Russia" Legion in a conversation with the portal The Insider. The opposition activist most likely died due to a Russian artillery attack, although Dadin's unit does not want to reveal details about his death. These are likely to emerge after the conflict ends.

Dadin was one of the most important opponents of Vladimir Putin's government. He was the first citizen in Russia to be sentenced to imprisonment for repeatedly violating the regulations regarding the organization of assemblies.

In 2015, he was sentenced to three years in a penal colony, although the court eventually reduced the sentence to 2.5 years. While serving his sentence in a penal colony in Karelia, Dadin announced that he was tortured. He was ultimately released from prison in 2017 after the intervention of the Supreme Court of the Russian Federation.