Eduard Basurin | |
|---|---|
Эдуард Басурин | |
 Basurin in 2015 | |
| Press Secretary of the DPR Military Command | |
| Assumed office 14 January 2015 | |
| Preceded by | office established |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1966-06-27)27 June 1966 (age 59) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Donetsk People's Republic |
| Branch/service |  United Armed Forces of Novorossiya |
| Years of service | 2014–present |
| Rank | Colonel[citation needed] |
| Unit |  Kalmius Brigade[1] |
| Battles/wars | War in Donbas |
Eduard Aleksandrovich Basurin[2] (Russian:Эдуард Александрович Басурин;Ukrainian:Едуард Олександрович Басурін,romanized: Eduard Oleksandrovych Basurin; born 27 June 1966) is the Deputy Defense Minister and Defense Spokesman of theDonetsk People's Republic (DPR) militia command,[3][4] which the Ukrainian government has designed a terrorist organization.[5]
Prior to theRusso-Ukrainian War which began in 2014, he worked for a company that produced paint.[6]
In 2014 he served as apolitical commissar of theKalmius Battalion, a paramilitary group operating under the Donetsk People's Republic organization.[1] From 2014 onwards, he has worked as press secretary, de facto spokesman for the self-proclaimed Donetsk People's Republic.[7][8]
Basurin has been accused of repeatedly attempting to obstruct the OSCE mission in Donbas.
During the2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Basurin called for usingchemical weapons against the defenders ofMariupol.[9] On 16 April,Ukraine's military intelligence reported that Basurin had been detained by Russia in connection to revealing chemical weapons use.[10] However, these allegations were not substantiated, and Basurin continued in his duties, prodding Ukrainian troops inSievierodonetsk to surrender on 13 June, in his official capacity as DPR military spokesman.[11]
In 2015 he was sanctioned by theEuropean Union[12] On 9 January 2016, Basurin was sanctioned under the Ukraine Designations Regarding Separatists (E.O. 13660)[13] sanctions program by the United States "For being responsible for or complicit in, or having engaged in, directly or indirectly, actions or policies that threaten the peace security, stability, sovereignty, or territorial integrity of Ukraine"; "Asserting governmental authority over a part or region of Ukraine without the authorization of the Government of Ukraine; and acting for or on behalf of the previously designated, self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic (DPR) or the previously designated, self-proclaimed Luhansk People’s Republic (LPR)"
Basurin was sanctioned by theUK government in 2015 in relation to theRusso-Ukrainian War.[14]
Media related toEduard Basurin at Wikimedia Commons