Mass killings of Ukrainians in Bucha: Sunday Times has identified 13 Russian officers responsible for war crimes
The British newspaper The Sunday Times has published the names of 13 Russian officers responsible for mass crimes in Bucha at the start of the full-scale Russian invasion.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to an article in The Sunday Times.
The publication writes that the scale of killings and torture of civilians by Russian occupiers in Bucha during the 29 days of occupation is so significant that the city has forever become synonymous with war crimes.
"During those 29 days at the beginning of 2022, they committed such atrocities that this Ukrainian city will forever be synonymous with war crimes," the article says.
The publication mentions that the occupiers turned the basement of a children's summer camp into a torture chamber, where Russian soldiers systematically raped women and children. The occupiers also slit the throats of their victims, maimed them, and killed their parents in front of their children. After Russia's retreat, more than 500 bodies of Ukrainian civilians were found in Bucha, and dozens more are still missing.
The Sunday Times names 13 Russian commanders responsible for war crimes in Bucha.
Their identities were established by independent lawyers and investigators using open sources. All 13 were confirmed by the Security Service of Ukraine. It is noted that investigators were able to use CCTV footage, videos from phones, and social media to investigate war crimes.
Eight of the 13 names were confirmed by the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, and these Russian military personnel were notified of their status as suspects for possible formal prosecution in Ukrainian courts and the International Criminal Court.
Another five men were identified through reports from their subordinates, which were cross-referenced with publicly available Russian military records. No charges have been brought against them at this time.
It is noted that more than 80 soldiers who were under their command at the time of the crimes have already been officially identified. However, the crimes were committed by many more people, but they have not yet been identified.
The Sunday Times notes that in order to bring charges against the commander in an international court, it must be proven that he knew his subordinate was committing a crime and did not take measures to prevent it.
Names of 13 Russian commanders
The Sunday Times confirmed the names of these officers using translations of official notices of suspicion issued by Ukrainian prosecutors, as well as documents provided by the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General, and interviews with them. Journalists also verified information published by the Russian military itself and on Russian social media.
Among the suspects is Colonel General Alexander Chaiko, commander of the Russian Federation's Eastern Military District. Prior to Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he commanded Russian troops in Syria and was sanctioned for ordering attacks on hospitals and schools in the Syrian province of Idlib.
He is charged with the crime of aggression. However, prosecutors also had to prove that he knew what his troops were doing and could have stopped them.
One of his subordinates was Sergei Chubarikin, commander of the Russian Federation's 76th Division. At the time of the crimes in Bucha, he was 41 years old and commanded the 76th Guards Airborne Assault Division, part of the Eastern Military District. Prior to that, like Chaiko, he fought in Syria, supporting the dictatorship of Bashar al-Assad.
Chaika and Chubarikina were charged with committing war crimes. They received reports from Artem Gorodilov, commander of the 234th regiment. Gorodilov was not charged, but the SSU believes that he was an accomplice to the crimes committed by his subordinates.
In surveillance camera footage obtained for the first time by The New York Times and verified by the Office of the Attorney General, Gorodilov can be seen standing on Yablunska Street as soldiers under his command execute civilians in broad daylight, the publication writes.
One of the civilian women, who was riding her bicycle past Yablunska Street, was killed after a tank fired a shell at her. This happened less than 100 meters from where Gorodilov was at that moment, according to the article.
A few days after the occupation of Bucha ended, Gorodilov was promoted to colonel, but he is currently on trial in Moscow for fraud.
The Sunday Times writes that Lieutenant Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov was one of the bloodiest Russian commanders in Bucha. He was nicknamed "The Butcher of Bucha." The US has stated that he personally committed gross human rights violations, including extrajudicial executions. Ukraine accuses Omurbekov of crimes against humanity. He has also been notified of the charges against him.
It is known that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin awarded Omurbekov the title of Hero of Russia.
Among the 13 suspects in war crimes in Bucha is is 28-year-old Lieutenant Nikolai Sokovikov of the 5th Guards Tank Brigade, who was sentenced in absentia in Kyiv to life imprisonment, but it is unlikely that he will ever actually end up in a prison cell in Ukraine, the article says.
Human rights activists also identified Commander Sokovikov as Colonel Andrey Kondrov, who was not notified of the charges against him. His identity was also established by the Security Service of Ukraine.
The list of Russian commanders involved in the killings and torture in Bucha also includes Colonel General Valery Solodchuk, Colonel General Alexander Sanchik, Colonel Denis Suvorov, Colonel Alexei Tolmachev, Major General Vladimir Selivestrov, Major General Vadim Pankov, and Colonel Sergei Karasyov.
The Sunday Times adds that Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko intends to identify as many Russian soldiers as possible who carried out the killings of Ukrainians in Bucha and other cities in Ukraine.
"If we continue to have the support of the United Kingdom, the European Union, and the United States of America, we will definitely achieve a just peace, and every war criminal will be punished. Let it happen in ten years or twenty, but it will happen," the prosecutor general emphasized.
