"Sparta" Battalion

The Sparta Battalion is a special forces military unit of the Donetsk People's Republic led by Arseny Pavlov ("Motorola"). The battalion took part in the Battle of Ilovaisk and Second Battle of Donetsk Airport. The battalion's name and insignia appear to be inspired by the faction of the same name in the video game Metro 2033.

Allegations of war crimes
In April 2015 members of the Sparta Battalion, in particular their leader Arseny Pavlov, were accused of committing war crimes. They allegedly tortured Ukrainian prisoners of war that had surrendered to them, in session lasting six to seven hours and then executed some of them. Pavlov admitted during a telephone conversation to having executed 15 prisoners of war, stating "I don’t give a damn about what I am accused of, believe it or not. I shot 15 prisoners dead. I don’t give a damn. No comment. I kill if I want to. I don’t if I don’t." One of the POWs that was killed on January 21, 2015 was Ihor Branovytsky. Amnesty International has stated that existing evidence confirms torture and murder of prisoners of war by the separatists and has called for an investigation into the war crimes being committed. The organization has also called for the leaders of the Donetsk People's Republic to remove those who are responsible from their ranks.