Azatbek Omurbekov

Azatbek Asanbekovich Omurbekov (Russian: Азатбек Асанбекович Омурбеков, Kyrgyz: Азатбек Асанбекович Өмүрбеков; born c. 1982) is a Kyrgyz-born Russian colonel 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.

Biography

Azatbek Asanbekovich Omurbekov was born in the village of Zhanak, in what is now Kyrgyzstan. Omurbek Atabekov, Omurbekov's grandfather, was an ethnic Kyrgyz from the Chieke clan of the Bagysh tribe. His other grandfather, a World War II veteran, is from Nukus, Karakalpakstan.

Azatbek's father, 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. Azatbek has stated that, in the future, he intends to return to the system of the Ministry of Defense of Kyrgyzstan.

Omurbekov became well-known to the public after Ukrainian citizen journalism website InformNapalm doxxed 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 Independent said it was unable to confirm or verify the claims.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy 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.

Since April 21st, 2022, Omurbekov has been under British sanctions. He was sanctioned by the European Union on June 3rd, 2022, due to his role in the Bucha massacre.

Awards

In 2014, Omurbekov was awarded for outstanding service by Russian deputy defense minister Dmitry Bulgakov.^{[citation needed]}