Volodymyr Zhemchuhov

Volodymyr Pavlovych Zhemchuhov (Ukrainian: Володимир Павлович Жемчугов; born 7 September 1970) is a Ukrainian insurgent, who fought against the Donetsk and Luhansk People's Republics, two former puppet states of the Russian Federation in Eastern Ukraine's Donbas region.

Volodymyr Pavlovych Zhemchuhov
Native name	Володимир Павлович Жемчугов
Born	(1970-09-07) 7 September 1970 (age 55) Krasnyi Luch, Voroshilovhrad Oblast, Ukrainian SSR, Soviet Union (now Ukraine)
Allegiance	Ukraine
Branch	Lutuhyne Partisan Movement  Ukrainian Ground Forces
Years of service	2015-2016 2022-present
Rank	Senior Lieutenant
Battles / wars	Russo-Ukrainian war War in Donbas Full-scale invasion of Ukraine
Awards	Hero of Ukraine
Alma mater	Alchevsk Mining and Metallurgical Institute

Life & career

Zhemchuhov was born in the city of Krasnyi Luch, Luhansk Oblast. He graduated from the local technological institute. Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, Zhemchuhov lived and worked in Georgia. After the start of the War in Donbas, he joined the ranks of the Lutuhyne Partisan Movement, a pro-Ukrainian guerilla group from Lutuhyne, which was involved in various acts of sabotage across the region, and participated in over 30 missions. On 15 September 2015, Zhemchuhov was severely wounded when he stepped on a landmine after returning from a mission near Khriashchuvate, a suburb of Luhansk. As the result of the detonation, he lost both forearms, as well as his eyesight and suffered severe fragmentation injuries. After being treated in Luhansk, he was detained and tortured by LPR authorities.^[1][2][3]

On 16 September 2016, he was released from captivity. He was brought to Germany for further treatment.^[4][5] On 22 January 2017, President Petro Poroshenko awarded Zhemchuhov with the title Hero of Ukraine.^[6]