Russian Military Defector Reveals to CNN War Crimes of Former Unit: ‘Maniacs Who Enjoy Killing’
CNN spoke with a Russian military defector who claimed he was witness to looting, rape, and war crimes during his time with the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, a unit commanded by Azatbek Omurbekov, referred to by many as the “Butcher of Bucha.”
CNN caught up with Nikita Chibrin at a “secret location” in Europe and the ex-soldier showed footage from the frontlines in Ukraine and a signature from the “butcher of Bucha” to prove his background. The soldier said before the Ukrainian invasion, he and his fellow unit members thought they were on a training exercise.
Chibrin said when the unit first entered Kyiv, there was excitement over the lack of rules.
“Everybody thought they could be like Rambo,” he said, adding some who said killing Ukrainians would be a “piece of cake” soon wanted out of the invasion.
Chibrin said he witnessed looting, as well as fellow Russian soldiers merely fired after allegedly raping a mother and daughter.
“I learned they were rapists. They raped a mother and a daughter,” he said, adding the soldiers were beaten and fired over the assaults.
Russian President Vladimir Putin praised the “heroism” of the 64th Rifle Brigade in April, shortly after the invasion of Ukraine.
Chibrin said he did not witness the alleged mass killings his unit is accused of as he was tasked with “menial labor” when he said he did not want to fight. He also said military leadership branded him a “coward,” and he soon fled the frontlines to go into hiding. Chibrin said he wants to testify about what he witnessed before an international court.
The soldier alleged rules of engagement became so loose that anyone, military or civilian, holding a phone could be killed on site, out of fear they could share the military’s location.
Chibrin said others objected to the war, but many also relished in the lack of oversight.
“There are maniacs who enjoy killing a man,” he said. “Such maniacs turned up there.”
Watch above via CNN
