A Russian court has arrested Colonel Artem Gorodilov, commander of the 83rd Air Assault Brigade of the Russian Army, for two months, Russian news agencies report.
According to journalists from The New York Times, Gorodilov was involved in the massacre of civilians in the village of Bucha near Kyiv in the spring of 2022.
According to the press service of the 235th Garrison Court, Gorodilov is suspected of fraud in the amount of at least 1 million rubles and faces up to 10 years in prison.
There is no information on what actions Gorodilov is charged with. It is also unknown whether Gorodilov admitted the charges. The trial was held behind closed doors.
According to the Kommersant newspaper, which reported Gorodilov's arrest, the colonel is on the US sanctions list.
In December 2022, The New York Times published an extensive investigation into the Bucha killings, which repeatedly mentioned Horodilov's name.
According to the newspaper's journalists, Gorodilov commanded the 234th Air Assault Regiment, which was involved in the killing of civilians in Bucha. After the retreat of Russian forces from Bucha, Gorodilov, who had the rank of lieutenant colonel, was promoted to colonel, the NYT wrote.
At least 500 residents died during the Russian occupation of Bucha. According to numerous testimonies cited by Western journalists and human rights organisations, most of them were shot by Russian troops.
Background. As a reminder, two organisations filed a lawsuit with the Austrian prosecutor's office demanding an investigation into Russian war crimes in Ukraine. In particular, they provided detailed evidence of the crimes and represent the interests of two women who were raped by Russian soldiers.