Unmasking a Russian Commander: Ukraine Exposes Horrific Bucha Atrocities

A Ukrainian official on Sunday said they have identified a Russian commander accused of committing atrocious war crimes in the eastern city of Bukhara.

The commander, identified only as V. I. Dolgov, is accused of organizing, leading, and committing the crimes which took place in June of 2020 in the Bukhara region of Ukraine. It is alleged that he and his force of Russian-backed separatists were responsible for a range of human rights violations, from looting and extortion to executions of civilians.

Ukraine’s Deputy Minister of Defense Oleksii Taran said that the commander was identified through an extensive investigation, which included collecting intelligence from multiple sources and cross referencing it with existing intelligence information.

According to Taran, the Russian commander is a member of ‘Vostok’ – an elite formation of the Russian Defense Ministry distributed throughout Ukraine. He noted that the military personnel of ‘Vostok’ have special status, which further complicates the process of identifying responsible persons.

The deputy minister noted that, despite the difficulty, Ukraine’s investigators were able to successfully unmask Dolgov and other suspects in this case. They obtained footage of the alleged war crimes, as well as other incriminating evidence which helped identify the Russian commander and the people responsible for the Bucha atrocities.

Ukraine is now sending this information to the International Criminal Court, in a move intended to hold the perpetrators accountable for their actions. The Ukrainian officials said that their motivation is to ensure that justice is served and that victims can receive proper compensation for the atrocities that were inflicted upon them.