Three years ago, on March 31, 2022, the Defence Forces de-occupied Bucha in the Kyiv region. Within a month, 381 people died in the city while it was under the control of Russian troops, 281 of whom were killed as a result of hostilities. Much is known about the crimes committed by the occupiers in Bucha. However, previously, they were spoken about by the victims and eyewitnesses themselves — not by those who committed the crimes.
The editorial team at Slidstvo.Info managed to record an exclusive interview with a Russian serviceman from the 76th Air Assault Division of the Russian Federation, who is currently accused of killing a civilian in Bucha. The occupier also witnessed how his “colleagues” abused local residents — and named them.
From police officers investigating criminal episodes involving paratroopers from the 76th Division of the Russian Federation in Bucha, Slidstvo.Info obtained previously unpublished drone footage and materials from investigative experiments.
In a special report marking the third anniversary of the de-occupation of Bucha — “Bucha: A Russian Soldier’s Confession” — Slidstvo.Info presents this footage for the first time.
This is covered in the material by Slidstvo.Info.
Luhansk Region, February 2023. The Kreminna Forest — once the largest continuous natural forest in eastern Ukraine – has become a war zone. Shells echo through a maze of trenches and dugouts. Every metre is fought over. Ukrainian defence forces are pushing forward, retaking Russian-held positions at a rapid pace.
On February 6, a group of 17 Russian soldiers — unprepared for such a swift Ukrainian advance — walk straight into Ukrainian positions. Among them is Nikolai Kartashev, who quickly drops his weapon and throws himself under a tree, surrendering and saving his life.
“Kartashev was at the very end of the group. When we saw him move, we thought he was a female medic — that’s probably why he was spared. He was filthy, covered in shit and mud, and looked so miserable. He begged for pity, cried, sobbed,” recalled Yuriy Mykulyak, former commander of the “Sturm” volunteer battalion of marine veterans, who captured him.
Yuriy Mykulyak
During the interrogation, Nikolai Kartashev withheld the fact that he had been in Bucha in 2022. However, the police already knew about this because, thanks to communication with Russian prisoners of war who had been captured in the Kyiv region, they managed to identify the names of the soldiers of the 234th Regiment of the 76th Air Assault Division of the Russian Federation, where Kartashev served.
Nikolai Kartashev
“When we showed him the regiment’s lists, the phones he used, where he stayed, which house he slept in — Kartashev just said, ‘Okay, okay, I get it.’ ‘Why didn’t you say anything?’‘I was afraid they’d kill me on the spot — because I had been in Bucha,’”said Roman Pryimachenko, senior investigator for major crimes at the National Police.
Roman Pryimachenko, senior investigator for major crimes at the National Police
During interrogations, Nikolai Kartashev helped the official investigation by confessing to atrocities and murders committed by himself and his ‘colleagues’. Currently, the occupier is in a Kyiv pre-trial detention centre, awaiting a court verdict, as he is accused of killing a civilian.
‘HALF OF HER HEAD WAS CRUSHED, HER NIPPLES WERE CUT OFF’
March 2022. Russian soldiers from the 76th Airborne Assault Division of the Russian Federation take up residence in the houses and apartments of locals who are forced to hide from the occupiers in cellars and bomb shelters. Eight Russians settle in the house of Volodymyr and Tetiana Shepitko, which has a small sauna. The occupants take turns going there to take a steam bath. One day, five Russian soldiers bring 34-year-old Oksana to the bathhouse.
On 7 April, the owner of the house, Volodymyr Shepitko, found the woman’s body in the cellar.
Volodymyr Shepitko
‘When we were leaving, the cellar door was open. And this time it was closed and there was cement on top. I said: ‘Something is wrong’. We took it off, opened it, my nephew shone the light, and there was a man lying there. I said: ‘Who, a man or a woman?’ He said: ‘No, a woman and a young one’. I immediately started to feel sick. I said to my nephew: ‘Go, go, call the police’. She was completely undressed, only wearing a fur coat. Half of her head was smashed — blown apart by bullets. It was true that she was abused. She had stab wounds, her nipples were cut off,’ Volodymyr Shepitko recalls.
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Russian Nikolai Kartashev says he was in the bathhouse the day Oksana was brought there. According to Kartashev, five occupants entered the bathhouse with the woman. One of them, Denis Monakhov, was carrying a Kalashnikov rifle. It was Monakhov, 27, who was served with a notice of suspicion for the woman’s murder.
Denis Monakhov
‘I was in the sauna, I went out to get dressed, started to leave, and they came in. The five of them and her. Then I heard the glass break. And we left,’ says Kartashev.
A journalist from France, Florent Marcie, was near the Shepitky’s house on 8 April 2022 when the police took Oksana’s body out of the cellar and shared this footage with the Slidstvo.Info editorial board. The video and photos show that there is blood and stab wounds on the naked body. In addition, the journalist filmed a range of material evidence: used condoms, the clothes of the Russian military, and the mess in the house that they left behind.
Oksana’s body / Photo: Florent Marcie
‘HUMAN SHIELD AND SHOOTINGS NEAR THE KINDERGARTEN
The beginning of March. Tsentralna Street. The Russians deploy military equipment on the territory of the Yablunka kindergarten and take up residence in the building. At this time, about 300 local residents, including many children, are hiding in the basement of the kindergarten. All of them become a human shield, as the Defence Forces cannot shoot back at the occupiers.
‘First, they entered kindergarten. For 40 minutes, we were all waiting here, in fear. And then they (the Russian military — ed.) started knocking on the door and said that it was enough to sit there, come out. We decided to come out because there was no electricity, no one knew what would happen to us, no one knew how long we would be here. They were standing there in balaclavas. Of course, it was a terrible sight: machine guns, uniforms, tanks. There were about 15 people there. They asked: ‘How many of you are there? Do you have weapons or not?’. We said we didn’t have any weapons, there were many elderly people,’ recalls Iryna Silchenko, director of the Yablunka kindergarten.
Iryna Silchenko, director of the Yablunka kindergarten
While people were hiding in the basement of the kindergarten, the Russians were interrogating local men on the floors above.
‘There were about 9 of them. They were standing in a gazebo with their hands tied and their faces [turned into] the gazebo. One by one, two by two, they were taken to the garden and interrogated there. I think so. Because I saw them being taken away later. Some were taken to the basement, some went home. And two of them were taken behind the garden. They killed them,’ says Russian Nikolai Kartashev.
On that day, Russians shot 37-year-old Vasyl Horlatyi and 40-year-old Yurii Yermolaev. Yurii is survived by two daughters, and Vasyl has a brother and sister. According to Kartashev, both men were killed by the deputy commander of the 2nd platoon of the 234th regiment, Sergeant Yevgeniy Shapovalov.
Yevgeniy Shapovalov
‘MUM, KILL ME”: MERCILESS SHELLING OF IRPIN
Russian paratroopers have managed to gain a foothold in Bucha. However, they have not managed to capture the neighbouring town of Irpin, so they continue to shell it daily. Nikolai Kartashev is a gunner of the Nona self-propelled artillery system, who does not hide the fact that he and other soldiers of the 234th Regiment were firing towards Irpin:
– Can you remember how many days in a row you fired towards Irpin?
– 25 days.
– Every day?
– Yes.
– How many shots could it have been?
– It depends. If you put all the guns together, then from 100 to 400 or so. Maybe even more.
– Did you realise that there were residential buildings there?
– No.
Interview with Nikolay Kartashev
At this time, the Yarovyis family is hiding in the car park of one of Irpin’s new buildings. They had already tried to evacuate, but the Russians were shooting at civilian cars, so they were unable to leave.
Yarovyis family
On 6 March, the Yarovyis go up to their apartment on the 15th floor to spend some time in a calm atmosphere. That day turned out to be fatal for the family.
‘My husband, son, and I were sitting in the kitchen when we heard a loud explosion. The walls shook, and we realised it was very close to us. Without speaking, my daughter grabbed her son and ran into the common corridor leading to the lift. I ran next, followed by my son and husband. My daughter ran out, and I followed. And then I remember myself, I was on the floor, everything was dark. I couldn’t see anything, I started shouting that I was alive and could move, so that someone would answer me. My daughter answered. I found her and my grandson by groping. Fortunately, they were safe,’ recalls Maryna Yarova.
Maryna Yarova
A Russian shell hit the Yarovyis’ apartment directly. Instead of walls, there was a void, the apartment turned into a ruin. Maryna Yarova tried to find her son Serhii and husband Mykhailo. She could hear their voices, but could not get closer because of the rubble, so she went down to the car park for help. Local men went to rescue Maryna’s family. However, it was impossible to help Serhii and Mykhailo without medics.
‘My husband was lying on the doorstep of the apartment. His head was pierced and there was no help for him. The guys dragged my son to the kitchen. He was lying on the floor. His legs were broken and his stomach was completely open. His internal organs were out. And I realised that there was nothing to do, no help without doctors. I stayed with my Serezhka for as long as I had time. My son was in so much pain, he asked: ‘Mum, kill me, I can’t stand it’. He was also cursing Putin. And it was the most terrible thing that these were my child’s last words. Not about the joy of life, not about the fact that he didn’t have time to do something,’ Maryna says with pain.
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- Serhii Yarovyi
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- Mykhailo Yarovyi
After the tragedy, Maryna, her daughter Yana and grandson Mykhailo settled in France, where they buried their relatives.
‘UNFORTUNATELY, THE AMBULANCE WILL NOT GO UNDER FIRE’
Russian Nikolai Kartashev is currently in a Kyiv detention centre, not a prisoner of war camp, as investigators have gathered enough evidence that the occupier is involved in at least one murder in Bucha. In particular, on 27 February 2022, Kartashev shot at a civilian, Valerii Koltunov, who worked as a security guard for Novus.
Valerii Koltunov
The man died as a result of his injuries, but still managed to call an ambulance. Slidstvo.Info received this phone recording from the police and is publishing it for the first time with minor cuts:
– Hello!
– Dispatcher 27, listening to you.
– Kyiv-Myrotska Street, 104D.
– Please tell me the settlement.
– Bucha! Bucha! I’ve been shot! A Novus security guard. Shot in the back. I can’t feel my right side.
– Yeah, they’re shooting! I’m bleeding from the back!
– Are you calling an ambulance for yourself?
– Yes!
– Is it possible to take you to the city of Bucha, 19 Poleva Street? An ambulance will not pass where there is shooting.
– I can’t walk. Half of my body is shut down.
– Do you hear me? If there is shelling, we are not leaving.
– What can I do? I’m going to die.
– How old are you?
– 25.
– Unfortunately, the ambulance will not go under fire.
The Russian Kartashev learned that Valerii Koltunov did not survive in Ukrainian captivity. He explains the shooting of the civilian by the fact that he was following the order of senior officer Vadim Tsvetkov.
Vadim Tsvetkov
‘Two or three minutes before that, we received an order over the radio: those in black are the enemy, because before that, our convoy was under fire and some equipment had already been hit. So when they saw a man in black, they started shooting at him,’ Kartashev says.
In addition to Kartashev, other soldiers of the 234th Regiment of the 76th Air Assault Division of the Russian Federation also shot at Valerii Koltunov: Denis Monakhov, Artem Derkach, Dmitry Antonnikov and Ruslan Gorshkov. The latter two, as well as officer Tsvetkov, have already been killed in Ukraine.
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- Dmitry Antonnikov
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- Ruslan Gorshkov
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- Artem Derkach
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- Denis Monakhov
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- Vadim Tsvetkov
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- Yevgeniy Shapovalov
In total, according to the archives department of the Bucha City Council, 381 people died in Bucha during the month of occupation. In particular, 281 people died as a result of hostilities, and the remaining 100 died due to illness and lack of medical care. 38 residents of Bucha are still missing. In addition, 43 bodies have not yet been identified.
