Putin’s men unmasked

Bucha was the war's bloodiest civilian massacre. These 13 commanders led the troops accused of rape, torture and execution

Russian forces occupied Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, for just under a month. Across those 29 days in early 2022, they committed acts of such barbarity that this Ukrainian town will forever be synonymous with war crimes; this conflict’s Srebrenica.

Residents were killed and tortured in their hundreds; more than 100 were buried in a mass grave outside the Orthodox Christian church.

Others were murdered as they fled.



The basement of a children’s summer camp was converted into a torture chamber where women and children were systematically raped. Soldiers slashed throats, mutilated victims and killed parents in front of their children.

More than 500 civilian corpses have been recovered. Dozens more are still missing. The United Nations has described it as ethnic cleansing and a crime against humanity, yet Russia claims the scene was staged by British special forces.

https://www.thetimes.com/world/russia-ukraine-war/article/russian-officers-war-crimes-bucha-ukraine-m85bb6dvn

The Sunday Times has published an investigation that reveals the identities of the 13 commanding officers in charge of Russian troops accused of the Bucha massacres.

Their identities have been compiled by independent lawyers and investigators using open-source intelligence, and all 13 have been confirmed by the Ukrainian security services.

▪️ Colonel General Aleksandr Chayko, commander of the Eastern Military District, led the Russian army at the outset of the invasion and was the most senior officer on the ground in Ukraine.

▪️ Colonel General Aleksandr Sanchik. Troops under his command allegedly tortured and raped civilians in Bucha.

▪️ Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, from the 64th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, personally had a hand in "gross violations of human rights" including "direct responsibility in killings, rape and torture," according to the US state department. He was one of the bloodiest commanders stationed in Bucha during the occupation.

▪️ Colonel General Valeri Solodchuk led Russian soldiers who are accused of killings in Bucha. He was promoted by Putin this year.

▪️ Colonel Yuri Medvedev. Soldiers reporting to him said to have committed more than 40 acts of rape. He was killed by mutinous Russian troops in 2022.

▪️ Colonel Andrei Kondrov. His troops were accused of robbing civilian houses in Bucha and killing unarmed civilians.

▪️ Major General Sergei Chubarykin, head of the elite 76th Guards Air Assault Division. Soldiers under his direct command allegedly carried out the majority of the war crimes in Bucha, including executions, torture and widespread looting.

▪️ Colonel Artem Gorodilov. Under US sanctions for "gross violations of human rights" including extrajudicial killings.

▪️ Lieutenant Colonel Denis Suvorov personally abducted a Ukrainian officer, tied him to a tree and tortured him before dumping his body in an open pit.

▪️ Colonel Aleksei Tolmachet. His regiment has been accused of unlawful detention, mock executions, ill treatment and looting.

▪️ Major General Vladimir Seliverstov was stationed at the command post on Yablunska Street in Bucha, described as the nerve centre for the violence.

▪️ Major General Vadim Pankov allegedly ordered soldiers to kill 30 local residents and forced civilians to clear up the bodies of dead Russian soldiers.

▪️ Colonel Sergei Karasev has been accused of assaulting a woman, knocking out her teeth with his gun, and of shooting a civilian in the head.