DONETSK – An Italian soldier who fought with pro-Russian separatists in the Donbass region of Ukraine was killed when he allegedly flung himself on a hand grenade to protect his comrades, according to an announcement by the Red Star Collective Facebook group, which was later confirmed by Ansa.

 “With immense pain, we regret to tell you that Edy Ongaro, nom de guerre ‘Bozambo,’ fell as a fighter to defend the free people of Novorossiya from the fascist regime of Kiev,” wrote the Red Star Collective (Collettivo Stella Rossa - Nordest) on Thursday. Russian news site Yakutsk.ru called Ongaro’s death, “heroic.”

 Ongaro, 46, had been fighting in the Donbas since 2015.

 “He was in the trenches with other soldiers when a hand grenade dropped by the enemy fell. Edy threw himself on the bomb making a barrier with his body. He heroically sacrificed himself to save the lives of his companions,” said Red Star.

 His “martyrdom,” continued the announcement, "serves to break the castle of lies of this war, but above all to relaunch the anti-fascist and internationalist struggle. Edy's sacrifice shows the strength of the proletariat that will be able to lead to the triumph of communism.”

 In 2015, Ongaro spoke in an interview with Spasidonbass.ru about his decision to join the pro-Russian forces against Ukraine.

 “With a lot of pride and honour I can say that I am part of the Prizrak, this internationalist battalion, and since the first moment I have felt among comrades. In every state, in every part of the globe there is some minority, some ethnic group that is trampled on and then we have to react,” he said in the interview. 

“In Italy he had made mistakes,” shared Red Star. Ongaro was involved in a bar fight in his hometown of Portogruaro in the Venice region, during which he kicked a shopkeeper in the stomach and threw himself at a Carabiniere. Once the terms of defence had been granted, Ongaro had been released by the judge pending trial, and then disappeared. News of his whereabouts later came via social media.

 “In Donbass," said Red Star, "he found his redemption, dedicating his whole life to the defence of the weak and the fight against the oppressors." He became a heroic figure in the eyes of pro-Russian separatists, apparently heedless of risking his life under bombs to fight against the Kiev government.

 “This is our day” he wrote when Vladimir Putin signed the decree by which Russia recognised the independence of the Donbass republics from Ukraine.

 His nom de guerre, ‘Bozambo,’ was chosen in memory of a partisan of the Second World War. He said the memory of the violence inflicted by the fascists on his family was what motivated him to keep fighting with the pro-Russian rebels of Donetsk and Luhansk.

ln