Hayk Gasparyan, known as “Abrek”, is the commander of the assault forces of the Wagner group in Ukraine. He served as commander of the forces during the battle of Soledar, in the Donetsk region of Ukraine, in Jan 2023 and was awarded an Order of Courage for battlefield bravery for his participation in the war effort in Ukraine by the president of the Russian Federation on 31 Dec 2022. In this position, he is directly responsible for coordinating and planning operations as part of the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine. Therefore, he is responsible for supporting and implementing actions and policies which undermine and threaten the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of Ukraine.