Dadin passed away, and a representative for the Civic Council informed the news that “he was, and he remains a hero.”
In the northeastern Ukrainian region of Kharkiv, the activist-turned-fighter was killed by Russian artillery fire when his volunteer battalion, the Freedom of Russia Legion, was engaged in combat.
As of right now, no additional information is available, and the Legion will not comment while maintaining the status of a military operation.
However, exiled Russian opposition activist Ilia Ponamarev, who had ties to the Legion in the past, told the news he was “certain, alas” that Dadin had passed away.
That this was “confirmed by those who were with him in battle” was made clear by another source.
The most recent texts I sent to his phone remain in the “unread” category.
A decade ago, when political repression in Russia grew more intense, Ildar Dadin gained notoriety for his tenacity in organizing nonviolent demonstrations.
He was the first individual to face charges under the new Article 212.1, sometimes known as Dadin’s Law, which was passed in 2014 and makes it illegal to repeatedly violate Russia’s increasingly stringent protest laws.
For him, that meant just holding a banner while strolling through Moscow’s streets.
