A member of the notorious Russian Wagner Group has been killed fighting in Ukraine, Russian and Ukrainian media have confirmed.

Vladimir Andonov, 44 -also known as "The Executioner" for his brutality in previous wars he served in Libya and Syria- was shot dead by a Ukrainian sniper in Kharkiv, Russian media says.

Andonovo was allegedly engaged in massacres carried out during Russia's first invasion of Ukraine in 2014.

The Wagner mercenary was born in a small Russian hamlet near the Mongolian border and served in the Russian army from 1997 until 2005.

Over the next several years, he fought in the ranks of the Kremlin-linked Wagner Group in Libya and Syria.

In August last year, the survivor of a gun massacre in the Libyan town of Asbi'ah told the BBC that Andonov had been among the soldiers that shot his family dead after occupying their home.