Russian soldier accused of castrating a Ukrainian prisoner of war in one of the most horrific war crimes of the entire Russian invasion is depicted.
He is believed to be a 39-year-old fighter with the pro-Vladimir Putin Luhansk armed group Bryanka-SSSR, another unit with a notorious reputation for violence and brutality. Members of the group are pictured proudly making the Nazi salute.
Ukrainian sources, including Mirotvorets, claim that the castrator comes from Kalmykia, a Russian region on the Caspian Sea. He is believed to have worked as a repairman in the regional capital, Elista, and has a criminal record in Russia for delinquent loans.
Ukrainian MP Inna Sovsun, who tweeted the sickening images, said the war crime must be punished. ‘Russia have to pay for it,” she said.
“Give Ukraine the weapons we need to end this nightmare once and for all. The world can’t pretend this isn’t happening.
Online sleuths quickly discovered his identity by watching the sickening video and matching his signature black hat, armband, uniform and insignia.
Russian soldier accused of castrating a Ukrainian prisoner of war on camera in one of the most horrific war crimes of the entire Russian invasion has been compared to a soldier featured in a June news report from Russian state media
He is believed to be a 39-year-old fighter of the pro-Vladimir Putin Luhansk armed group Bryanka-SSSR (Bryanka-USSR)
Ukrainian sources, including Mirotvorets, claim that the castrator comes from Kalmykia, a Russian region on the Caspian Sea. He is believed to have worked as a repairman in the regional capital of Elista and has a criminal record in Russia related to loan arrears
Ukrainian sources, including Mirotvorets, claim that the castrator (presumably the man in the photo) comes from Kalmykia, a Russian region on the Caspian Sea.
He was recognized in a news report from the Russian state media in which the fighters of Luhansk and the fighters of Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov checked the ruins of the Azot factory in Severodonetsk.
The footage in question, which MailOnline does not publish, shows a group of men in Russian camouflage pinning down a soldier in Ukrainian uniforms and using a knife to remove his genitals and then holding them in front of the camera.
Other videos showed Russian troops mocking him and appearing to call his wife. A video was released late last night showing the soldier being shot in the head before his body was dragged through the streets by a rope.
It is unclear when and where exactly the images were taken, but the perpetrators were featured in the state media report in June.
Shared on Russian social media, the sickening act was confirmed as real last night by Aric Toler of open source researchers Bellingcat, who have uncovered a number of crimes committed by the Russian state.
Toler said the images showed no signs of editing or manipulation. He suggested it was possible to identify the attacker by the same wide-brimmed hunter hat and armband, as well as the same uniform and badge he had worn in the Azot news story.
Outrage in Ukraine at the sight of one of their defenders mutilated and executed in such a manner has been widespread in a country that has endured five months of Russian troops committing war crimes on their territory.
The horrifying video is just the latest evidence of widespread war crimes committed by Russian forces in Ukraine.
The satellite city of Bucha in Kiev made headlines worldwide in April when the withdrawn Russian troops left behind evidence or left behind torture and summary executions of Ukrainian soldiers and the civilian population.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that deliberate campaigns of rape and assault were also carried out by Russian forces.
Ukrainian authorities have identified Russia’s 64th Separate Motorized Infantry Brigade as the unit responsible for some of these atrocities.
Dead bodies lay strewn in the streets of Bucha, a suburb of the Ukrainian capital Kiev, after Russian troops withdrew from the region in April
They were later given honor guard status by Russian President Vladimir Putin in a move that suggested full support from the Russian state for their war crimes.
Bryanka-USSR, whose members carried out the castration, had built a similar reputation for violence, brutality and war crimes even before Putin’s large-scale invasion of Ukraine on February 24.
The battalion commander, Dmitry Pindyurin nicknamed “Lyuty” (“Ferocious”), was involved in shootings, looting, extortion and other criminal acts that terrorized the separatist region in 2015.
The bodies of 17 victims were discovered in the town of Bryanka, near Alchevsk in the Lugansk region, believed to have been killed by members of the Bryanka-USSR group.
The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office said it was collecting documentation of more than 14,000 alleged Russian war crimes and had identified more than 600 suspects.
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern European director, said: “Those suspected of criminal responsibility for this horrific attack must be investigated.
“International law is clear: prisoners should not be subjected to any form of torture or ill-treatment. Their rights must be respected in accordance with the Geneva Convention.’
Outrage over the incident came as separatist authorities in Russian-occupied Donetsk accused Ukraine of shelling a prison colony, killing 53 inmates and injuring 75 others.
The separatists claimed that Ukrainian troops targeted the prison to punish troops who allegedly surrendered and testified against Ukraine. Images released by Russian state television show a prison cell with charred bunk beds.
Ukrainian military sources said Russian artillery fire hit the penitentiary in Olenivka.