In July 2015, he was transferred to the Southern Military District,[20] and, according to Main Directorate of Intelligence of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine as well as other sources, under the alias of "Primakov" participated in the Russian military intervention in Ukraine as commander of the Donetsk People's Republic's 1st Army Corps.[11][21] On 11 June 2016, Asapov was promoted again to Lieutenant General.[22]