Alexey Milchakov

Alexey Yurievich Milchakov (Алексей Юрьевич Мильчаков, born 30 April 1991) is a Russian neo-Nazi, suspected war criminal and co-leader and co-founder of the Rusich Group, that operated from 2022 within the Wagner Group. He is as of 2022 sanctioned by the United States, the European Union, the United Kingdom, Canada and other countries. He has been linked to atrocities in both Syria and Ukraine, including the participation in beating a man to death with a sledgehammer, and has been described as "the symbol of Russian neo-Nazis fighting in the Donbass".

Biography
He was born in Leningrad (now St. Petersburg). Milchakov calls himself a fan of FC Zenit.

Animal abuse
Milchakov first came to public attention after he filmed himself torturing and decapitating a puppy in 2011, posting the footage online. A petition calling to hold him accountable was supported by more than 5,500 people. At the same time animal rights activists addressed FC Zenit fans in order for them to give an assessment to Milchakov's actions. In his VK page he also called for killing of homeless people, puppies and children.

Alleged Actions in Syria
A 2024 investigation by the open source research group Bellingcat analyzed a 2017 photograph that depicted a man in military uniform holding a severed human head near the Syrian city of Palmyra. By comparing the camouflage patterns, Bellingcat concluded the uniform was likely worn by Milchakov or a member of Rusich. Bellingcat geolocated the photograph and found it was 5.5km away from where Wagner mercenaries tortured and beheaded a Syrian man in 2017.

War In Donbas
Milchakov participated as a volunteer in the war in Donbas from 2014, stating later he wanted "to kill". According to his own account, Milchakov formed Rusich together with Yan Petrovsky in the summer of 2014, after going through a paramilitary training program run by the Imperial Legion, the military branch of the Russian Imperial Movement. He has openly bragged about photographing mutilated and burnt Ukrainian bodies of members of the paramilitary Aidar group in 2014. Milchakov is also reputed to have cut ears of Ukrainian corpses and scratched swastikas on their faces. By 2015, he had been sanctioned by the European Union, United Kingdom and Canada. He has used the call signs "Fritz" and "Serb".

In 2016 Milchakov criticized the leadership of the Luhansk People's Republic for ostentatious “anti-fascism”.

In a 2020 video, Milchakov described himself as a "Nazi", stating: "I'm not going to go deep and say, I'm a nationalist, a patriot, an imperialist, and so forth. I'll say it outright: I'm a Nazi."

In August 2022, Nexta posted a tweet of footage showing Milchakov in Ukraine. According to the German Intelligence Service, Milchakov was allegedly injured in the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

Sanctions
Milchakov is sanctioned by Canada in 2015, and by Australia, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, Ukraine, the United Kingdom and the United States in relation to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.