Russian soldier flees to Spain and denounces: "A criminal war in Ukraine"

He landed two days ago in Madrid and now, after having presented an asylum request, he says he is willing to testify against the "criminal war" waged by Moscow in Ukraine.

This is the story reported by the Guardian, of

, a 27-year-old Russian soldier who would have been part of the 64th motorized rifle brigade, the brigade of the Russian land forces accused of the Bucha and Andriivka massacre. 

The soldier, who claims to have said he was against the Russian invasion from day one, allegedly deserted last June, then managed to return to Russia and subsequently escape from there.

Now, Chibrin, who joined the Russian army in 2021 and says he was "deceived" into Ukraine to fight, says he is ready to testify before an international court.

Having landed in the Spanish capital on Tuesday, he was detained at the airport's immigration center and in a telephone interview with the British newspaper, he says he spent more than four months in Ukraine, but denies involvement in the war crimes reported by his unit, saying that he did not shoot "once" while in Ukraine.

“I have nothing to hide,” he said.

“This is a criminal war started by Russia.

I want to do everything I can to stop it."

And he said he was eager to testify in an international tribunal and to recount his experiences in Ukraine. 

The decision to flee Russia came after he defected from his unit in Ukraine in June, said Chibrin who claims to have immediately declared his opposition to the war to his commanders, as early as February 24, the first day of the invasion, and that for this reason - he adds - was removed from his position as an army mechanic to be entrusted to other jobs.

“They threatened to jail me.

Eventually, my commanders decided to use me as a cleaner.

I was removed from the battlefield."

The Guardian says it has been unable to independently verify all the details of Chibrin's story, but that the soldier did provide documents and photographs showing he belonged to the 64th Brigade in Ukraine.

In addition, Maxim Grebenyuk, a lawyer who runs the Moscow-based defense organization Military Ombudsman, said he was contacted by Chibrin over the summer and took his statement of opposition to the war and his wish not to fight in Ukraine. 

Chibrin is the second known Russian military man who fled the country after taking part in the invasion.

In August, The Guardian had already interviewed

, a former Russian paratrooper who fled the country after writing a memoir criticizing the war.

Twitter/The Guardian

The Guardian, interview with Pavel Filatyev

Born in Yakutsk in eastern Siberia, Chibrin enlisted in the Russian army in the summer of 2021. "I didn't think I would get involved in any war," he said, declaring that the decision to enlist was driven by financial difficulties.

Chibrin said he first entered Ukraine with his unit on February 24, crossing the Belarusian border.

"We had no idea we were going to fight in Ukraine," he said.

"We have all been deceived."

Also according to his story to the Guardian, Chibrin spent the first month of the invasion in the village of Lypivka, 30 miles west of Kiev.

Precisely the period during which the massacres of Bucha and Andriivka, two villages close to Lypivka, took place.

Getty

Mass grave in Bucha, northwest of Kiev

Chibrin said he never witnessed any shootings during his time at Lypivka, but later says his unit would regularly loot Ukrainian homes: “They looted everything there was.

Washing machines, electronics, everything.” And he added that there were “widespread rumors” among his comrades that members of his unit were involved in sexual assaults and killings of civilians. 

He went on to describe morale in his unit during its time in Ukraine as "extremely low," confirming extensive media reports.

“Everyone tried to find ways out of the military.

But our commanders threatened to shoot us."

Finally Chibrin tells of his daring escape from Ukraine, on June 16 when he manages to hide inside a truck bound for Russia traveling for food supplies.

Once in Russia he comes into contact with the human rights network Gulagu.net which helps him to leave the country.