Russian soldier tells how he was ordered to execute innocent civilians in Ukraine
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A young Russian soldier has openly confessed how he shot civilians dead and looted their possessions as Vladimir Putin’s troops invaded the country before resigning.
He also told how his battlefield commanders ordered him and others to slaughter innocent Ukrainians in horrific alleged war crimes on the orders of his superiors.
Daniil Frolkin, 21, a Russian soldier, who spent five months in the war, admitted to journalists for iStories media: ‘We are allegedly trying to liberate civilians from fascism.
‘But we kill civilians. What’s the point of continuing this war?’
He gave chilling details to journalist Yekaterina Fomina of how ‘my commanders told me: “Those are the ones to be shot”.
‘So I went and shot them. The order was given by Lt Colonel Andrey Prokurat.
Apart from Prokurat, he identified Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, already known as the ‘Butcher of Bucha’, whose forces are accused of using rape as a weapon of war, as giving the order.
Daniil Frolkin, 21, Russian Army ‘looter’, confessed to war crimes. He is pictured with his mother Irina
Daniil Frolkin, 21, wants his commanders jailed for sending troops to their deaths. He is pictured in happier times, left, and right as a Russian soldier
The former Russian soldier who spent five months in the war admitted to journalists at iStories media that his battlefield commanders ordered him to slaughter Ukrainian civilians
‘These men were brought in, and he said: “Take them somewhere, and shoot them”.
They had a pack of cash on them: [Ukrainian] hryvnia, dollars, a big pack. This Lt Colonel took the money.
‘They also gave us their documents and phones, and said: “Walk them out, shoot them, destroy their phones and their documents”.’
He told how he had sought a way out of Putin’s killing machine army but initially to no avail.
He told how one commander looted refrigerators, clothes and trainers from Ukraine, sending lorry loads of stolen goods to Russian ally Belarus.
‘I don’t know who we’re fighting against, probably against [Ukrainian army],’ he said.
‘But they’re not Nazis, they are Slaviс people like we are….
‘When we talked to locals in villages they said: “We’ve never had Nazis.”
They were mostly pensioners who had moved to Ukraine from Russia, he said.
He dramatically confessed to journalists: ‘I – a serviceman from military unit 51460, guard corporal Daniil Andreyevich Frolkin – plead guilty to all the crimes I committed in Andriivka [village].’
This included ‘the execution of civilians, robbing [them], stealing their phones.’
Lt Colonel Andrey Prokurat gave the order to execute Ukrainian civilians in the village of Andriivka. Frolkin also named Commander Azatbek Omurbekov, pictured right, as behind the massacre of Ukrainian civilians. He is known as the ‘Butcher of Bucha’ for the massacres carried out in Ukrainian villages around Kyiv
Graves are uncovered in Andriivka village on April 11, where Frolkin says he was ordered to execute innocent civilians
A communal worker exhumes a body of a man buried near his house in Andriivka village
He insisted that ‘our [Russian] commanders do not give a f*** about our soldiers’ and committed war crimes to gain medals and please their top brass.
He admitted stealing a phone from a Ukrainian and taking pictures of invading Russian soldiers.
This phone was later found after the Russians withdrew and contains sensational first hand evidence of the alleged war crimes by Putin’s forces.
He named Russian commanders linked to his 64 Motorized Rifle Brigade who he said were guilty of war crimes.
He claimed the colonel faked successful operations to impress defence chiefs. He cowered in cellars while sending out his troops into harm’s way.
‘When we stayed in Andreevka he sat in the basement all the time,’ said Frolkin.
‘We were not treated as people, we were just thrown into fights.’
Frolkin, from Altai region in Siberia, accused chief of intelligence, Lt Colonel Denis Romanenko, of sending his own forces to their deaths, and demanded a probe into other commanders.
The soldier admitted stealing a phone from a Ukrainian and taking pictures of invading Russian soldiers. The device was later discovered by the Ukrainian army
Pictured with other soldiers, he said he had initially sought a way out of Putin’s killing machine army but initially to no avail
‘Please punish these commanders,’ he said, saying he had gone public in the hope of triggering action against them and sending them to jail.
Yet his hopes for a ‘furore’ in the army are unlikely since Russian defence chiefs are unlikely to admit the atrocities.
Frolkin claimed that one civilian he killed had been passing details of the Russian military location to the Ukrainians.
‘We had 18 wounded because of him, one gravely wounded with his balls shot off by shrapnel,’ he said.
‘He was begging us “Guys give me a machine gun please, I’ll shoot myself, I don’t want to go back to my wife like this”.’
Frolkin said: ‘I told [the informer]: ‘On your knees.’ And just a bullet in the forehead.
‘I was shaking for a very long time. I understood if I kill one more, I kill myself. I couldn’t take one more life on my conscience.
Frolkin, 21, confessed to media outlets and said his commanders should be prosecuted. He said he realises he could face jail time both for his actions and his confessions
‘I killed one, but I wanted to save as much as possible. I want to save my guys.’
Frolkin – now back in Russia and resigning from the army – admitted he could face jail due to his admissions.
More than 400 mutilated, tortured and murdered corpses were discovered in Bucha days after reports emerged of widespread war crimes in the Kyiv suburb as Russian troops withdrew.
Omurbekov, known as the ‘Butcher of Bucha’ for the alleged crimes, was promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to full Colonel.
It came despite his men standing accused of gang rapes, tortures and civilian executions.
Soon after receiving the honours, the unit was then redeployed to the eastern Donbas front, one of the most dangerous in the conflict.
The ‘Butchers of Bucha’ who tortured and murdered Ukrainian civilians
Horrific images of dozens of bodies in civilian clothes lying in the streets, some with their hands tied behind their backs, in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv, shocked the world when they emerged earlier this month. There were also reports of mass rapes.
Amid global outrage over the killings, the leader of the ‘Butchers of Bucha’ Russian brigade was promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to full Colonel.
Ukrainian officials have released photos of those it holds responsible for the massacre.
Corporal Andrei Bizyaev (left), 33, has reportedly served in the Red Army for over ten years. He is originally from Khabarovsk in eastern Russia. Right: Private Sergei Peskarev, 24, has evidence of his 64th Brigade membership on Facebook. He worked at a supermarket till until November last year, at which point he signed up in anticipation of a war in Ukraine. In February, he got his wish and is now accused of war crimes.
Corporal Dmitry Sergienko (left), 27, lived in Voronezh, south-western Russia. He has a wife and a young daughter. Right: Private Grigory Naryshkin, 30, is another soldier personally accused of war crimes by the Prosecutor General. The athlete and martial artist is also from the far-eastern region of Russia.
Sergeant Nikita Akimov (left), 25, from Komsomolsk in the far east, is accused of personally kidnapping and torturing innocent Buchans. He has a wife and children and has posted pictures throughout the invasion on Facebook. Right: Corporal Mikhail Kashin, 24, comes from Votkinsk, west Russia. According to his social media, he has a wife and several sisters. He spent his birthday allegedly committing war crimes in Bucha.
Private Vasily Knyazev (left), 24, comes from a poverty-stricken family in Yoshkar-Ola, western Russia. He joined the army straight from school and posted photos on Facebook of where the 64th Motorized Brigade was stationed after invading Ukraine. Right: Private Albert Radnaev, 24, joined the army straight from school. His father is also reportedly a soldier in the Russian Army, though it’s unknown whether he has gone to fight in Ukraine.
Junior Sergeant Vyacheslav Lavrentyev (left), 29, was a firefighter in Transbaikal, eastern Russia before signing up to fight in Ukraine. He posted on Facebook: ‘Live one life – save thousands.’ Right: Corporal Semyon Maltsev, 26, is a dancer. He also comes from Russia’s far-eastern region. In February, he stopped touring with his dance company and signed up to fight in Ukraine.
Azatbek Omurbekov is known as the ‘Butcher of Bucha’ for giving out the orders to slaughter civilians in Bucha. He was promoted from Lieutenant Colonel to full Colonel after his deployment to Ukraine