Last Updated on: 17th November 2022, 09:09 pm
Who is Nikita Chibrin? Biography, Wiki
Nikita Chibrin is a member of the Russian armed forces who took part in the invasion of Ukraine and sought political asylum after landing in Madrid.
Chibrin said he spent more than four months in Ukraine as a member of the 64th Guards Separate Motor Rifle Brigade, a unit accused of committing war crimes in the Kyiv region in March.
Nikita Chibrin Age
His current age is 27 years.
Asylum-Seeking Russian Soldier
Chibrin landed in the Spanish capital on Tuesday and was detained at the airport’s immigration center. In a phone interview from the airport on Wednesday night, Chibrin denied any involvement in the war crimes denounced by his unit and said he had fired a gun in Ukraine “more than once”.
He said he looks forward to testifying about his experience in Ukraine before an international court. “I have nothing to hide,” he said.
“It is a criminal war that Russia has started. I want to do everything to stop him.”
Chibrin said he decided to flee Russia after defecting from his unit in Ukraine in June. Chibrin told his commanders of his opposition to the war on February 24, the first day of the invasion. Chibrin says he was fired from his job as an army mechanic after speaking up and giving him the job of doing manual labor.
“They threatened to put me in jail. Ultimately, my commanders decided to use me as a cleaner and loader. They took me away from the battlefield,” he said of his time in Ukraine. The Guardian has not been able to independently verify all the details of Chibrin’s story.
Chibrin produced documents and photos showing he was assigned to the 64th Guards Motor Rifle Brigade in Ukraine. Maxim Grebenyuk, a lawyer who heads the Moscow-based defense organization Military Ombudsman, said Chibrin contacted him over the summer.
Grebenyuk said Hibrin spoke of his opposition to what the Kremlin calls his “military special operation” and his desire not to fight in Ukraine.