"Mads who enjoy killing": Russian deserter unpacks
Created: 12/14/2022, 4:35 p.m
By: Nail Akkoyun
Nikita Chibrin worked in Ukraine for months – until he escaped.
Now the deserter reports on the war and Russian atrocities.
Moscow/Washington, DC – Nikita Chibrin is a deserter.
According to his own statements, for months he was part of the 64th Motorized Rifle Brigade, which consists of pro-Russian separatists and Russian soldiers.
The troops are accused of having committed several war crimes in Bucha, Borodyanka and other towns and villages, as
fr.de
writes.
In April, Ukraine's Defense Ministry classified Chibrin's brigade as a war criminal after mass graves full of murdered civilians were discovered in the Kyiv region.
Pictures showing dozens of dead bodies on the streets of Bucha caused an international uproar.
As a result, many countries imposed further sanctions on Russia.
The Kremlin has denied any involvement in the atrocities and has repeated claims that the photos of the civilian bodies were fake.
Russian President Vladimir Putin went further and bestowed the unit with an honorary military title, praising it for its "heroism" and "bold deeds".
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After around six months of service in Ukraine, the Russian deserted and fled to Europe via Belarus and Kazakhstan.
Speaking to the US news
channel CNN
, Chibrin spoke about murders and unpunished rapes.
Russian Brigade in the Ukraine War: No trace of heroism
Chibrin says he remembers well how his comrades ran away after they allegedly raped two Ukrainian women while on duty northwest of Kyiv in March.
According to Chibrin, their commanders shrugged their shoulders when they learned of the atrocities.
In other cases, war criminals were merely "beaten" but never fully punished.
He saw nothing of the alleged heroism of his unit in the Ukraine conflict - but many of the crimes.
The unit had direct orders to "assassinate anyone" who passed on information about the positions of the troops, whether military or civilian.
"If someone had a phone, we were allowed to shoot them," he said.
Russian soldiers are honored in Moscow.
A deserter from the Russian army makes serious accusations against his comrades.
© IMAGO/Sergei Savostyanov
Orders that some of his comrades are said to have been only too happy to carry out.
"There are lunatics who enjoy killing people.
Such madmen appeared there,” said Nikita Chibrin.
He is said to have witnessed how Russian soldiers are said to have raped mothers and daughters in front of the others.
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Ukraine War News: "Russia Won't Stop Until Much Blood Is Spilled"
The former soldier has no doubts that Russia will lose the Ukraine war - but only after many more people have lost their lives.
“Because Russia will not stop until much blood is shed, until everyone dies.
Soldiers are cannon fodder to them.
They don't respect her," he said.
And the Ukrainian people will “drive you to hell and throw Molotov cocktails at you”.
He himself finally escaped the war when, after suffering a back injury, he was sent back to Ukraine – this time to the Kharkiv region in the east of the country.
In the forests around the city of Izyum, he finally found a way to escape, Chibrin told
CNN
.
Accordingly, he jumped onto the back of a truck that was on its way to Russia.
Other comrades would have done the same.
Now he is determined to speak out about the events he witnessed in Ukraine and has even written an anti-war song.
“Hundreds of souls, hundreds of bodies of lost people.
Hundreds of mothers without children,” says the refrain.
Nikita Chibrin goes on to say that he is prepared to testify against his unit before an international court.
He claims he has not committed any crimes himself.
(nak)
