Apr 18, 2022 - World

Putin honors Russian brigade accused of Bucha atrocities

Ivana Saric

Civilians walk amid the destruction on a street in the town of Bucha, — Civilians walk amid ruins in Bucha on April 6 after the withdrawal of the Russian army from the Kyiv region. Photo: Narciso Contreras/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Monday bestowed an honorary title on a military unit accused of committing war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine.

Driving the news: As Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv region earlier this month, evidence surfaced of dead civilians — some with their hands tied behind their backs — strewn in the streets of the city of Bucha.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address days later that more than 300 people had been tortured and killed in Bucha by Russian forces.

State of play: In a statement on April 4, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense explicitly named Russia's 64th Motorized Infantry Brigade as "directly involved in committing war crimes against the people of Ukraine in Bucha."

The ministry added in a post on Facebook that while the brigade had been initially withdrawn to Belarus, and later to Russia, it has since been sent back into Ukraine.

What they're saying: "I congratulate you on conferring the honorary title 'Guards' on the brigade," Putin said in a statement.

"This is a high honor and recognition of your special merits, mass heroism and courage shown in defending the Fatherland, upholding the sovereignty and national interests of Russia."
"I wish the command and personnel of the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade good health and success," Putin concluded.

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Putin honors Russian brigade accused of Bucha atrocities

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