Yuriy Barbashov | |
|---|---|
| Юрий Владиславович Барбашов Юрій Владиславович Барбашов | |
| Head of theMykolaiv Military-Civil Administration | |
| In office 13 August 2022 – 30 September 2022 | |
| Preceded by | Administration established |
| Succeeded by | Administration dissolved |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1975-03-21)21 March 1975 (age 50) |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |  Ukraine Russia Donetsk People's Republic, Luhansk People's Republic |
Yuriy Vladislavovych Barbashov[a] is a Ukrainian politician and nominal head of thecollaborationistRussian Mykolaiv Military civilian administration.
Yuriy Barbashov was born inMykolaiv, Ukraine. In 1998, he graduated from the Admiral Makarov University of Shipbuilding in Mykolaiv. Since 2013, he has been involved withAnti-Maidan movements and protests as well as supporting theNovorossiya project. In 2014, he moved to theLuhansk People's Republic, where he participated in rallies withOleg Tsarov, and later to theDonetsk People's Republic. In the latter, he joined theMilitsiya and also became an employee of the public broadcaster. In 2021, he participated in peace negotiations inMinsk as part of the LPR delegation. He has appeared many times in the Russian media,[1] he also ran his own channel onTelegram and aYouTube channel with the same name, mainly presenting pro-Russian views to the audience.[2][3] Since 2017, Ukraine is investigating him in a terrorist case.[1][4]
During the2022 Russian Invasion of Ukraine, Yuriy Barbashov supported a lot of edro-Russian activity in theMykolaiv Oblast. He created a website where he displayed pro-Russian propaganda, which was later hacked and shut down by Ukrainian hackers.[5] After Russian forces failed to occupy Mykolaiv Oblast, the Mykolaiv Military Civilian Administration was created with its headquarters being inSnihurivka. Barbashov helped Russian forcescapture small villages near Snihurivka and was appointed as governor of the Mykolaiv MCA. His administration was preparing a referendum to join Russia.[6][7] On 11 September, following a majorUkrainian counteroffensive, it was announced that the proposed annexation referendum would be "indefinitely" postponed.[8][9] On 11 November Ukrainian forces regained control of almost all of Mykolaiv Oblast with only theKinburn Peninsula remaining under Russian occupation.[10][11]