General Omurbekov, Linked to Bucha Killings, Targeted in Russia

An attempt was made to kill Major General Azatbek Omurbekov in Russia’s Khabarovsk Krai. He commanded the 64th motorized rifle brigade during the occupation of Bucha and Andriyivka in Ukraine.

Sources of the VChK-OGPU reported that an attempt was made to blow up the officer on April 28 in the military garrison in the village of Knyazye-Volkonskoye-1.

The bomb was placed in a mailbox on the landing of one of the houses.

According to sources, Lieutenant Colonel Kuzmenko, the commander of the training communications battalion, died in the explosion, and several more people were injured. There is currently no information about the condition of Omurbekov himself.

The major general became known as the “Butcher of Bucha” due to accusations of involvement in mass killings in the Kyiv region in the spring of 2022.

Daniil Frolkin, a serviceman of the 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade, previously stated that Omurbekov gave orders to shoot civilians.

His colleague, Nikita Chibrin, also reported on the killings of civilians during the occupation. The Security Service of Ukraine, for its part, accused Omurbekov of torturing residents of the Bucha district to identify participants in the resistance movement.

In addition, Frolkin said that the brigade command “did not consider ordinary soldiers to be people.”

According to him, Omurbekov beat his subordinates and threatened to kill them for refusing to go on the offensive. He himself hid in the school’s basement, where the headquarters was located, passing on false information about the unit’s non-existent successes.

Since 2023, Omurbekov has headed the 392nd District Training Center for Junior Specialists of the Eastern Military District.

The Russian army occupied Bucha in the Kyiv region from March 5 to 31. After the de-occupation, more than a hundred bodies were found in the city, some with their hands tied behind their backs.

In April 2022, Vladimir Putin awarded the 64th Brigade the rank of Guards and also awarded Omurbekov the Hero of Russia star. He received the rank of Major General in June 2025.