Photo: Deutsche Welle/IMAGO/SNA / copyright
Russian leader Vladimir Putin granted this Monday (18. 04.2022) the honorary title of “Guard” to the 64 Independent Motorized Brigade of the Rurisa Army, accused by the authorities Ukrainians of being involved in the alleged massacre of civilians in the city of Bucha, near kyiv, discovered after the withdrawal of the invaders from that region, the 30 of March.
“For his heroism and courage, for the integrity and courage shown by the brigade in combat to defend the Homeland and the interests of the State in conditions of armed conflict, decree (…) assign the honorary title of Guard to the 60 Independent Motorized Brigade”, states the presidential decree. The Kremlin did not specify where the soldiers were deployed or what their mission was.
“The skillful and decisive actions of all personnel in the military operation in Ukraine they are a model of execution of military duty, courage, determination and great professionalism,” Putin wrote to the military. After the withdrawal of Russian troops from northern kyiv, the Ukrainian authorities denounced a massacre of civilians in the city of Bucha, after the discovery of several hundred bodies, some with their hands tied behind their backs.
Mounting or attack by the Ukrainians themselves 61505852
The Ukrainian military intelligence published on its website the personal data of 1.600 Russian soldiers, from names and surnames to date of birth and military rank, integrated into the troops that acted in Bucha. The list corresponds to the members of the 64 Independent Motorized Brigade of the Russian Army, which according to Ukraine would be involved in the alleged massacre of civilians in that city.
The Kremlin “categorically rejected all the accusations”, which it described as false, and demanded that Western leaders not rush to make “gratuitous accusations” of facts that, from Moscow’s perspective, would rather correspond to a setup or, failing that, to actions carried out by the Ukrainian forces to blame the Russian invaders.
DZC (EFE, AFP)