War in Ukraine: How was Azatbeck Omurbekov, the alleged “butcher” of Boutcha, identified by Ukrainian activists?

Last weekend, the whole world discovered with horror the abuses committed by the Russian army in the city of Boutcha, located on the outskirts of Kiev. Hundreds of bodies lay on the ground in the streets of the city, abandoned by the recent withdrawal of the Russian army. If Moscow denies being behind these crimes, since physical evidence were mainly made by the press.

The international community has also made several calls for the perpetrators to be brought before the International Criminal Tribunal (ICC) for war crimes. That’s the site InquireNapalm, who informs about the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, revealed this Wednesday the identity of the one who was soon dubbed the “butcher of Boutcha”. It would be a Russian military leader in his forties named Azatbeck Omuberkov.

The Ukrainian activists behind the identification of the suspected perpetrator allegedly used a database of open access documents, in particular powered by the hacker group Anonymous, as explained FranceInfo† InformNapalm indicates that Azatbeck Omuberkov would be the commander of unit no. 51460responsible for the many abuses committed in Boutcha in recent days.

The Ukrainian activists have tried to contact the alleged “butcher of Boutcha” by phone, without success. His relatives said they would not have heard from him for several days. According to intelligence, it is currently near the city belgordon the Russian side of the border, preparing a new military intervention.

In addition to his identity, InformNapalm also revealed personal information about the Russian soldier, including his mailing address, email address and phone number.

If he is the first to be identified, many other soldiers could be held responsible in the coming days, the Boutcha prosecutor said. Ruslan Kravchenko† He stated to: BFM TV have “already a hundred pages with first and last names of Russian soldiers and photos of Russian soldiers who were involved during the occupation” from Boucha.

But who really is the “butcher of Boutcha”?

commander of the 64th Brigade of motorized infantry, Azatbeck Omuberkov is a licensed officer. He has known Ukraine since he had already led operations in Crimea and Donbass in 2014. The “Butcher of Boutcha” was also awarded for his “proficiency”. Also in 2014, the Russian received a medal from Russian Deputy Defense Minister Dmitri Bulgakov for “outstanding service”. More recently, in 2021, he received a blessing from the Orthodox Church.