[9] According to Pavlov, he got his nickname "Motorola" after working with Motorola-manufactured equipment while serving for four years as a wireman in the military[8] or due to his role as the chief radioman for the commanding officer in the marine infantry.

[15] On 2 October 2014, Pavlov threatened to go to Poland after the plane of Russian defence minister Sergei Shoigu was not allowed to fly over Polish airspace on 29 August 2014.

[18] An undated video was circulating where Pavlov chaotically fires a grenade launcher on residential buildings in Donetsk, joking he needs to "wake them up".

[24] He and his bride were featured in a caricature by Donetsk artist Serhiy Zakharov,[25] who was subsequently held prisoner and tortured for several months by pro-Russian separatists.

[28] Donetsk People's Republic officials accused a previously unknown "Misanthropic Division", an alleged Ukrainian Neo-Nazi group that was possibly fabricated by Russian FSB agents, of the killing.

[32] Following his death, the Ukrainian hacking group Cyber Junta disclosed information from Pavlov's phone, including personal photos and videos, legal documents, and correspondence.

[33] Shaun Walker, the Moscow correspondent of The Guardian reported that Pavlov was extremely paranoid about his security, and that it is likely that such an attack would require aid from someone within his inner circle.

Another theory behind the assassination has been that there is a drive to get rid of the first generation of rebels who were implicated in war crimes, therefore giving the separatist forces a more acceptable public face.

Moreover, Arsen Pavlov's alleged war crimes have been one of the sticking points of the implementations of the Minsk II agreement, with Ukrainian authorities stating that he would not be granted amnesty.

Ukrainian military spokesman Andriy Lysenko suggested the assassination could be used as cover for Russian separatists to carry out terrorist attacks within Ukraine.

[31] A 2024 New York Times article revealed that Pavlov was assassinated by members of the Security Service of Ukraine's secretive Fifth Directorate, which awarded commemorative patches to those involved in the operation.