The “Butcher of Bucha” has been sanctioned by the UK after committing “heinous” acts in Ukraine, as Liz Truss announced a crackdown on Vladimir Putin’s generals.
Lieutenant Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, a commanding officer in the Russian army involved in the Bucha massacre – in which more than 500 civilians are thought to have been killed outside Kyiv – was named among 26 new sanctions announced by the Government.
The Foreign Office said the moves targeted those “commanding the front line” with “Ukrainian blood on their hands”.
Colonel General Andrey Serdyukov, commander of airborne forces, Major General Valery Flyustikov, commander of special operations forces, and Colonel General Nikolay Bogdanovsky, first deputy chief of the general staff, have also been sanctioned.
“Today I announce new sanctions on those with Ukrainian blood on their hands including the commander of the unit which occupied Bucha and other individuals and businesses supporting Putin’s military,” said the Foreign Secretary.
Accusing Russia of deliberately targeting civilians, she added: “The depravity of Russia’s assault on the people of Ukraine is plain for all to see. They are deliberately targeting hospitals, schools, and transport hubs in Mariupol and beyond – just as they did in Chechnya and Syria.
“The UK is unyielding in our support for Ukraine and in holding Putin and his regime to account.”
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Further individuals outside the military were also sanctioned, including Oleg Belozyorov, the chief executive and chairman of Russian Railways, and Ilya Kiva, the defecting and expelled Ukrainian MP who has publicly supported Russia’s actions.
Rishi Sunak, the Chancellor, and Anne-Marie Trevelyan, the International Trade Secretary, also announced further restrictions on high-end products such as caviar and diamonds from both Russia and Belarus.
The Government will also increase tariffs by 35 percentage points on around £130 million worth of products from the two countries, including diamonds and rubber. It brings the total import tariffs and bans on Russian goods to over £1 billion, Mr Sunak said.
It came as Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 1,020 civilians had been found stored in morgues around Kyiv after Russian troops withdrew from areas near the capital.
Olga Stefanishyna, the deputy prime minister of Ukraine, told AFP: “These are not only civilians collected from buildings, but also on the streets.” She said the deaths dated to the beginning of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February.
Oleksandr Pavliuk, the Kyiv regional governor, said the remains of nine civilians had been found 34 miles outside the city, buried in communal graves.
He said they were “either killed or tortured to death during the hostilities”, adding: “Forensic experts are now examining the bodies, but what we saw was hands tied behind the back, their legs tied and shot through the limbs, and in the back of the head.”
