I Did It: Russian General Gurulyov Admits to Shelling Ukrainians in 2014

Russian lawmaker and General Andrey Gurulyov has admitted that in 2014 he commanded Russian forces in Donbas that shelled Ukrainian civilians.

Gurulyov made the statement during one of his live broadcasts. Journalist Denys Kazansky highlighted the remarks.

According to Gurulyov, in 2014, he was in charge of troops assigned to capture a settlement where Ukrainian forces were located.

To achieve this, the Russian commander ordered artillery to be used against residential areas, including a neighborhood where a church was located and where civilians were sheltering.

As a result of the shelling, a woman and a child were killed, and the church was damaged.

Twelve years ago, I once drove to a church. On adjacent territory. I approached the priest and said, “Father, how are things?” And he said, ‘Well, not great. We didn’t have much to begin with. We were bombed here, there was a shooting there, a woman and a child were killed, and so on.’

I told him, “Listen, that was me.”

He looked at me with wide eyes. I said, “There was no other way. I had to save my men. We tried to advance from the hospital, from the regional center – it didn’t work. We tried to come in from the north – that didn’t work either. So we had to strike like that and finish off the enemy. I’m not asking people to forgive me or anything like that. I just want you to tell people the truth in your sermons. If necessary, God will forgive me; if not, then not – it means I didn’t deserve it. But people should know the truth.”

During the broadcast, Gurulyov also claimed that Russia is supposedly not waging war against civilians. At the same time, he called for strikes on Kyiv to paralyze railway connections and leave people without water, heat, and electricity.

Gurulyov in Donbas

Back in 2016, the Defense Intelligence of Ukraine established that Russian General Andrey Gurulyov had commanded troops fighting against Ukraine in Donbas.

According to Ukrainian military intelligence, for his participation in the war against Ukraine in 2014, he was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general and, in March 2016, was awarded the Order of Courage.

“He took direct part in criminal activities on the territory of Ukraine in 2014–2015,” the intelligence agency stated.

Andrey Gurulyov served as commander of the 58th Combined Arms Army of the Southern Military District of the Russian Armed Forces and later as head of the 12th Reserve Command.

In 2015, he once again took command of the 58th Army of the Southern Military District, which is based in Vladikavkaz. The headquarters of the Southern Military District is located in Rostov-on-Don. He is currently a deputy of the Russian State Duma.