Russia's 64th Motor Rife Brigade of Bucha Massacre Infamy, Struck By Ukraine

Ukraine has a long memory. One of the Russian units most responsible for the massacre of Ukrainian civilians at Bucha, Irpin and other Kyiv suburbs during the first days of the Russian invasion was the 64th Motor Rifle Regiment. The unit is based near Khabarovsk, in Siberia. It's officers are white, ethnic Russians but many of its soldiers are ethnic Buryats or Yakuts, indigenous people who are discriminated against in Russia's society. 

Because of the 64th notoriety, they have been targeted by Ukrainian forces whenever they have subsequently appeared at or near the front. Most recently, last night, the unit was struck again, this time by aerial drones, in reserve positions in Luhansk and Zaporizhzhia oblasts. They will never be accorded mercy. JL

Kateryna Tyshchenko reports in Ukraine Pravda and Mark Krutov reports in RFE/RL:

The Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine struck Russia's 64th Motor Rifle Brigade, which committed crimes in Bucha in 2022. Operational data confirm losses among the 64th Brigade of 31 personnel, including 9 killed, 9 wounded and 13 missing. Actual figures are likely to be significantly higher. The unit gained global notoriety at Bucha, the site of mass killings of civilians and other alleged war crimes. Ukraine's Defense Ministry accused the brigade, which was deployed to Bucha and nearby locations, of atrocities. The (vengeance) operation was carried out by the 414th Magyar's Birds Brigade and the 413th Regiment on the night of 29-30 May, coordinated by the newly created Deep Strike Centre of the Unmanned Systems Forces 70 and 100 km from the front line.

The Unmanned Systems Forces of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have struck positions of Russia's 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, which committed crimes in Bucha in 2022 during the occupation of Kyiv Oblast.

Source: Robert "Magyar" Brovdi, Commander of the Unmanned Systems Forces, on Facebook

Quote: "[The unit Magyar's] Birds of the Unmanned Systems Forces worked on training grounds and a military camp of the enemy's 3rd and 36th armies in operational depth.

The lowest of the low, the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the 35th Army, which ran riot in Bucha in 2022, was hit." The unit gained global notoriety after Russian units withdrew from districts north of Kyiv in late March, repelled in their offensive toward the Ukrainian capital.

Several districts, including the town of Bucha, were the sites of mass killings of civilians and other alleged war crimes, according to Ukrainian investigators, rights groups, journalists, and open-source researchers. Ukraine's Defense Ministry accused the brigade, which was deployed to Bucha and nearby locations, of atrocities.

On August 8, Bucha authorities said they had tallied 458 bodies recovered in the town, of which 419 appeared to have been shot, tortured, or suffered blunt-force injuries.

The bodies of Bucha residents, all dressed in civilian clothes, some with their hands tied behind their backs, lie on the ground on April 3.

Weeks after reports of the massacres first appeared, on April 18, Putin honored the 64th for defending the "motherland and the interests of the state." He praised it for "mass heroism and valor, tenacity, and courage."

According to the dates listed on the memorial wall at the 64th Brigade camp, about 20 minutes outside of Khabarovsk, at least 44 soldiers from the unit died in late February and March -- a period coinciding with the first phase of the Russian invasion, when Russian forces sought to seize Kyiv.

Details: The operation was carried out by drone operators from the 414th Magyar's Birds Separate Brigade and the 413th Raid Separate Regiment on the night of 29-30 May, coordinated by the newly created Deep Strike Centre of the Unmanned Systems Forces at distances of 70 and 100 km from the front line. A total of 21 confirmed effective hits were recorded, 13 and 8 respectively.

Information on the Russian personnel losses are being confirmed. For now, operational data confirm losses among the 64th Brigade in Prymorskyi Posad: 31 personnel, including 9 killed, 9 wounded and 13 missing. Magyar said that the actual figures are highly likely to be significantly higher.

Information on the losses at Russia's Triokhizbenka training ground of the 3rd Army is being gathered.

Ukrainian forces hit following targets:

• The 3rd Army's Triokhizbenka training ground near the settlement of Kriakivka in temporarily occupied territory of Luhansk Oblast, struck by drone operators from the 9th Kairos Battalion of the 414th Magyar's Birds Separate Brigade of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine, 70 km from the front line.
• The 36th Army training ground used by Russia's 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade of the 35th Army at Prymorskyi Posad in the temporarily occupied territory of Zaporizhzhia Oblast, struck by drone operators from the 413th Raid Separate Regiment of the Unmanned Systems Forces of Ukraine, 100 km from the front line.