Ukrainian activists have identified the man that they believe to be behind the alleged atrocities in the city of Bucha.
They’ve nicknamed the Russian commander the ‘Butcher of Bucha’ and even shared his home address and telephone number.
This comes after bodies were found in the streets and buried in mass graves in the city, with ‘mounting evidence’ of potential war crimes discussed at the United Nations Security Council.
The activists believe that Lt. Col. Azatbek Omurbekov is the man behind the alleged war crimes in the suburb of Kyiv, and InformNapalm – a group of Ukrainian volunteers who are monitoring Russian armed forces and special forces – have dubbed him a ‘military villain’.
According to their intelligence, Omurbekov is the leader of the 64th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade, which the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has claimed online is responsible for committing war crimes’ in Bucha.
According to The Times, Omurbekov was blessed by a Russian Orthodox priest in November before he was deployed in Ukraine early this year.
After the service, which was allegedly presided over by the Bishop of Khabarovsk, he is reported to have said: “History shows that we fight most of our battles with our souls.
“Weapons are not the most important thing.
“The church is a place where we can take Communion and prepare for the coming events.
“With the blessing of the Almighty, we hope to achieve the same things that our forebears achieved.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy addressed the UN Security Council yesterday, calling for Russian officers to be brought to account for their alleged actions.
He said that he wants prosecutions ‘similar to the Nuremberg tribunals’ that followed the end of World War Two.
Zelenskyy said: “The Russian military and those who gave them orders must be brought to justice immediately for war crimes in Ukraine.
“Anyone who has given criminal orders, or carried them out by killing our people, will be brought before a tribunal.”
He went on to say: “I would like to remind Russian diplomats that men like von Ribbentrop did not escape punishment; Adolf Eichmann also did not go unpunished.”
The two Nazi leaders were executed for their involvement in the Holocaust.
Speaking in Bucha on Monday, Zelensky said: “These are war crimes, and this will be recognised by the world as genocide."
He added that Russian soldiers ‘treated people worse than animals’.
Russia continues to deny the massacre, alleging that Ukraine has staged the scenes in order to increase opposition to invading forces.
Satellite footage, however, has shown bodies littering the streets as early as March 18, when Russian forces were still present in Bucha, all but destroying the defence that forces had already left.
Featured Image Credit: East2West NewsTopics: Ukraine, Russia, World News
Tom Wood