Azatbek Asanbekovich Omurbekov (; born 17 September 1983) is a Kyrgyz-born Russian

colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries, a colonel was typically in charge of ...

who reportedly heads the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, a unit suspected of committing war crimes in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. He has been dubbed by media outlets as the "Butcher of Bucha". In November 2021, he received a blessing from the

Russian Orthodox Church , native_name_lang = ru , image = Moscow July 2011-7a.jpg , imagewidth = , alt = , caption = Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow, Russia , abbreviation = ROC , type ...

Biography

Azatbek Asanbekovich Omurbekov was born in Jaynak, Kashka-Suu rural district, Aksy district, Jalal-Abad region, Kyrgyzstan. His grandfather, a veteran of the Great Patriotic War, is from Nukus, Karakalpakstan. His father, FSB Colonel Asan Omurbekov, served in the military all his life, including guarding the Kyrgyz border for nearly 10 years. His brother, Askarbek Omurbekov, is now a lieutenant colonel in the Russian FSB. Omurbekov became well-known to the public after Ukrainian

citizen journalism Citizen journalism, also known as collaborative media, participatory journalism, democratic journalism, guerrilla journalism or street journalism, is based upon public citizens "playing an active role in the process of collecting, reporting, a ...

website

InformNapalm InformNapalm is a volunteer initiative to inform Ukrainian citizens and the foreign public about the Russo-Ukrainian War and the activities of the Russian special services as well as the militants of DPR, LPR, and Novorossiya. The team members ...

doxxed Doxing or doxxing is the act of publicly providing personally identifiable information about an individual or organization, usually via the internet. Historically, the term has been used interchangeably to refer to both the aggregation of this in ...

the officer, exposing much of his personal information to the public. According to InformNapalm, Omurbekov is a 40-year old lieutenant colonel who was leading the Russian troops during the

Battle of Bucha The battle of Bucha was part of the Kyiv offensive in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine for control of the city of Bucha. The combatants were elements of the Russian Armed Forces and Ukrainian Ground Forces. The battle lasted from 27 Februar ...

. ''

The Independent ''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was publis ...

'' said it was unable to confirm or verify the claims. The city of Bucha after liberation from the Russians 01

Ukrainian President

Volodymyr Zelenskyy Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy, ; russian: Владимир Александрович Зеленский, Vladimir Aleksandrovich Zelenskyy, (born 25 January 1978; also transliterated as Zelensky or Zelenskiy) is a Ukrainian politicia ...

visited Bucha on 4 April 2022. He then talked about war crimes allegedly committed by Russian troops. Troops under Omurbekov's command allegedly murdered unarmed civilians and raped women and children. After the Russian forces left the town, mass graves were discovered. Zelensky then called for a Nuremberg-style tribunal to investigate and prosecute Russian war crimes.

Sanctions

Since 21 April 2022, Omurbekov has been under British sanctions. He was sanctioned by the

European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational political and economic union of member states that are located primarily in Europe. The union has a total area of and an estimated total population of about 447million. The EU has often been des ...

on 3 June 2022 due to his role in the

Bucha massacre The Bucha massacre ( uk, Бучанська різанина, Buchanska rizanyna) was the mass murder of Ukrainian civilians by Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the Ukrainian city of Bucha amid the Russian invasi ...

Awards

In 2014, Omurbekov was awarded for outstanding service by Russian deputy defense minister

Dmitry Bulgakov Dmitry Vitalyevich Bulgakov (Russian: Дмитрий Витальевич Булгаков; born 20 October 1954) is a Russian military leader, a specialist in the field of logistic support of the armed forces. He was Deputy Minister of Defense ...

. On July 13, 2022, it became known that Omurbekov was awarded the title of Hero of the Russian Federation and plans to install a commemorative plaque at the school where he studied.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Omurbekov, Azatbek 1983 births Living people Russian military personnel of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine Kyiv offensive (2022) Russian military leaders Russian people of Kyrgyzstani descent Fugitives wanted by Ukraine Russian individuals subject to the European Union sanctions Russian individuals subject to United Kingdom sanctions Heroes of the Russian Federation