Igor Nesterov, a former coach of Russian boxing champion Alexander Povetkin and alleged member of the Wagner Group, was killed in combat in Mali, a Ukrainian military intelligence source told the.
Nesterov, described as a “war criminal” by the source, fought in Ukraine from the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion and was photographed alongside Russian troops. His death was later confirmed by Russia’s World of Boxing promotion on July 16, News.Az reports, citing Kyiv Independent.
The mercenary previously headed the Chekhov Boxing Federation in Moscow Oblast and had been part of Povetkin’s team since the late 1990s. Povetkin, an Olympic gold medalist, has publicly supported Moscow’s war narrative, framing the invasion as a fight against “Nazism.”
The source added that Wagner continues to sustain heavy losses in Mali, where it supports government forces against Islamist insurgents, despite reports it is winding down operations. The group, notorious for atrocities in Africa and its 2023 rebellion in Russia, has been linked to torture, disappearances, and secret prisons across Mali since 2021.