Russia Arrests Top Military Officer, Artyom Gorodilov, on Corruption Charges

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Col. Artyom Gorodilov, who oversaw forces occupying the Ukrainian metropolis wherever a massacre took place, was arrested and accused of large-scale fraud.4

The mangled remains of a conveyance lies successful the mediate of a roadworthy adjacent different destroyed cars and a state presumption nether an overcast sky.

July 4, 2024, 4:40 p.m. ET

The Russian authorities person arrested a apical subject colonel and charged him with large-scale fraud, the authorities quality bureau TASS reported connected Thursday. The colonel was antecedently the commandant of troops liable for a 2022 massacre successful the Ukrainian metropolis of Bucha.

The authorities arrested the colonel, Artyom Gorodilov, connected July 3 and charged him with committing fraud amounting to astatine slightest a cardinal rubles ($11,236), TASS reported. A subject tribunal ordered that helium beryllium held successful pretrial detention until Aug. 19, and helium faces up to 10 years successful situation if convicted, TASS reported. He has denied immoderate wrongdoing.

Colonel Gorodilov is presently the commandant of the 83rd Guards Air Assault Brigade, a portion based successful the Russian Far East, which is operating successful eastbound Ukraine. He antecedently led the 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment, based successful the Russian metropolis of Pskov.

An probe by The New York Times successful 2022 determined that members of the 234th Regiment had been down a massacre of civilians connected Yablunska Street successful Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, the Ukrainian capital, erstwhile it was occupied by Moscow’s troops successful the aboriginal days of the war.

Colonel Gorodilov led the portion astatine the clip and was contiguous successful the municipality wherever hundreds of civilians died, successful immoderate cases arsenic a effect of brutal executions. Russian troops retreated from the country successful aboriginal 2022.

The U.S. authorities imposed sanctions connected Colonel Gorodilov past twelvemonth for what it called “his engagement successful gross violations of quality rights, namely extrajudicial killings.”

He was promoted to the fertile of colonel days aft images from Bucha emerged publically and turned the suburb into a planetary awesome of the panic that Russian forces person brought to occupied Ukrainian towns.

Moscow has denied engagement successful the Bucha killings, with President Vladimir V. Putin of Russia calling the events “a provocation.” The Times, however, identified 2 twelve members of the 234th Regiment who were successful Bucha astatine the clip of the massacre, successful portion by tracing the numbers the troops called successful Russia utilizing the Ukrainian victims’ mobile phones.

Paul Sonne is an planetary correspondent, focusing connected Russia and the varied impacts of President Vladimir V. Putin’s home and overseas policies, with a absorption connected the warfare against Ukraine. More astir Paul Sonne

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