"There was looting, and a mother and daughter were raped": Russian soldier confirms crimes in Kyiv Oblast

Russian serviceman Nikita Chibrin from the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, who escaped from the front and made it to Spain, has confirmed numerous war crimes committed by the Russian army in Kyiv Oblast.

Source: Chibrin, in an interview with The Insider, an independent Russian online newspaper

Details: The Russian soldier talked to The Insider about the looting and confirmed that women were raped by Russian soldiers in the village of Andriivka (Kyiv Oblast).

According to Chibrin, conditions for Russian soldiers at the front are horrific.

The Russian military command exerts physical and psychological pressure on anyone who wants to leave the front by escaping or being captured.

"Everyone was terrified that their penis or testicles would be cut off, or something like that would be done to them," Chibrin said.

Quote: "I know for sure that looting took place. I saw them steal cars in Lypivka and Andriivka, I saw them wreck cars that wouldn’t start and destroy houses. They just seemed to go crazy, like, you know, ‘we have power, we have tanks, we have infantry fighting vehicles, weapons etc.’ They switched to ‘Rambo mode’. They took ornaments from people’s houses, mobile devices…

They went insane because of this. A lot of them would find alcohol in houses and drink. There was a case in Andriivka where a mother and daughter were raped. By four guys. One escaped, and the others were beaten with stools by their fellow soldiers and commanding officers. They wanted to shoot them. They couldn’t be charged because there was no evidence, so they were just fired...

These guys hadn’t been living in the normal world for a long time. They weren’t living in adequate conditions. The Ukrainian army showed footage of their trenches, where everything was arranged properly: a dugout, insulation against damp, decent beds, electricity. The attitude towards their soldiers is way better in the Ukrainian army."

Details: The serviceman also said he had pretended to be mentally ill so that he would not be sent to the front line. Everyone has turned their backs on him, including his family, because he ran away and refused to open fire.

Chibrin said he wanted to testify in an international court: "I have nothing to hide. This is a criminal war that Russia started. I want to do everything I can to make it stop."

Chibrin joined the Russian army in summer 2021, citing financial difficulties as the reason behind his decision to join the army. The serviceman claims that his brigade was brought to Ukraine by deception. According to him, he spent the first month of the full-scale invasion in the village of Lypivka, 50 km from Kyiv. During this time, his comrades-in-arms committed acts of genocide in Bucha and Andriivka.

On 16 June, he managed to leave Ukraine by hiding in a truck headed for Russia. After escaping, he contacted human rights activists from Gulagu.net and asked them to help him leave Russia.

He landed in Madrid on 15 November and immediately claimed asylum. Chibrin says he will be housed in a temporary refugee centre while his asylum claim is being processed.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Support Ukrainska Pravda or become our patron!