Overview

Anton Yelizarov (call sign “Lotus”) commanded the Wagner Group’s Seventh Assault Detachment and played an instrumental role in capturing Soledar and Bakhmut in Ukraine during the first half of 2023. Previously, as an assault detachment commander and deputy commander for combat training, he helped shape Wagner’s combat and training operations in Syria, the Central African Republic (CAR), and Libya. Since Yevgeny Prigozhin’s death following the June 2023 mutiny, Yelizarov has been associated with the First Volunteer Corps, one of several formations that emerged drawing from veterans of the Prigozhin-era Wagner Group. Born on May 1, 1981, in Zernograd, Russia, in what was then the Soviet Union, Yelizarov is married with a daughter.

Yelizarov’s military education began at the Ulyanovsk Guards Suvorov Military School, from which he graduated in 1998. In 2003, he completed his studies at Ryazan Guards Higher Airborne School, specializing in multi-purpose tracked and wheeled vehicle operation. His active military service started in 2003 with the Seventh Guards Airborne Division (renamed Airborne Assault Mountain in 2007) in Novorossiysk. He progressed from parachute platoon commander to company commander in the 108th Guards Air Assault Regiment. Photos from August 2013 show him still on active duty, possibly as a senior warrant officer. Later, Yelizarov commanded a special forces unit in the 10th Separate Special Purpose Bridge of Russia’s military intelligence agency (GRU). His deployments included the South Eastern District, the city of Novorossiysk, the village of Molkino (Krasnodar region), and the North Caucasus. In 2016, he was dismissed as captain following a two-year investigation into illegal privatization of state property. Despite his military career, Yelizarov maintained business interests. He was involved in interior design for Donjon (associated with YugGostStroy) and registered a limited liability company (LLC) specializing in real estate and construction work.

After his dismissal, Yelizarov joined the Wagner Group in 2016, rising to commander of the Seventh Assault Detachment. His subsequent deployments were extensive. In 2017, he served in Syria, where he sustained a shrapnel injury to the hip. From 2018 to 2019, he was an instructor in the CAR, serving as head of the Bambari base. Later, Yelizarov commanded an attack unit in Libya. In 2022, he was deployed to Ukraine and was involved in creating the “people’s militia” in the Belgorod region. Yelizarov commanded troops in both Soledar and Bakhmut. His successful capture of Soledar in 2023 placed him in the same location and timeline as Alexander Kuznetsov (call sign “Ratibor”), commander of Wagner’s First Assault Detachment. His numerous accolades include the Hero of the Russian Federation Gold Star medal, the titles of “Hero of the ‘DPR’” (2022) and “Hero of the ‘LPR’” (2022), two Orders of Courage, and the Order of Merit for the Fatherland (Second Class).

Yelizarov’s tenure as head of the Bambari base in the CAR coincided with attacks on civilians in the area. He was also one of the main commanders during Khalifa Haftar’s assault and siege of Tripoli, Libya, with internal Wagner Group documents placing him in the Tarhunah region. After Haftar’s forces withdrew, investigators discovered mass graves containing hundreds of bodies in Tarhunah. Later, Yelizarov commanded forces during the capture of Soledar and Bakhmut in Ukraine, operations that allegedly involved atrocity crimes. In 2023, Yelizarov was sanctioned by the European Union, Switzerland, New Zealand, Ukraine, and Japan for his role in these activities and for compromising Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity.