On June 20, 2017, ex-battalion commander of the “DPR”, forty-six-year-old Vadim Pogodin, call sign “Kerch”, was detained in Yalta (via Interpol). The Yalta City Court arrested him “to ensure the possibility of extradition to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies.” Pogodin is accused not just of murder, but of commanding the execution of sixteen-year-old schoolboy Stepan Chubenko.
On July 23, 2014, Stepa was detained in Donetsk (which was already occupied) because a blue and yellow ribbon was noticed on the tenth-grader’s backpack, and among his things they found a scarf from the Karpaty football club - that was enough. Styopa never returned home to Kramatorsk.
“Kerch” (Pogodin), Buba (Sukhomlinov), Zhora (Moskalev)
From the protocol of interrogation of one of the crime witnesses
“Next to the checkpoint, perpendicular to the road, defensive lines were built in the form of trenches. At the same time, the fighters of the Kerch battalion carried out a checkpoint... I witnessed how at a checkpoint, which was located on the road to the village of Mospino, Pogodin, Moskalev and Sukhomlinov shot a minor boy, Stepan Chubenko. I spoke about this fact in more detail in another criminal proceeding.
Immediately after taking the life of this guy, Pogodin gave an order in a military manner to a militant nicknamed Bear, who was serving at the specified checkpoint, so that the latter would organize the burial of Chubenko. I left the village of Gorbachevo-Mikhailovka because I began to fear for my life.”
Gorbachevo-Mikhailovka, execution village
— Do you know who the main driver of the investigation is? Styopa’s mother,” says Colonel Igor Novoseltsev. - Persistent. Because so many people have disappeared and disappeared - that's all. And a large wave of violence arose against children. I don’t remember anything like this in Donbass before the war, but I’ve been in the criminal investigation department since ’93.
Novoseltsev is a senior detective for solving crimes against persons of the Criminal Investigation Department of the Main Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine in the Donetsk region. He and his current leader, long-time colleague, Colonel Artem Vasitsky, plus a group of security officials of lower ranks “went out” to Kramatorsk in the fall of 2014. It sounds like they have “come out of the encirclement.” Many of those with whom they served (like the ex-chief of the Donetsk Organized Crime Control Department named Dikiy, now the “Minister of Internal Affairs of the DPR”), it turned out, had been waiting for Russia all their lives.
By that time, Kramatorsk was already in a state “after the war”: 77 missing people, 87 unidentified corpses. A small detachment of Girkin-Strelkov captured and held the city in fear for almost three months, where the police alone numbered up to five thousand employees, not counting the SBU directorate, two prosecutor's offices and the military commandant's office located at the local airfield, where, in addition, special forces were stationed.
“I don’t know who Styopa’s mother turned to before.” “I saw her in Vasitsky’s office,” recalls Novoseltsev, “and stayed to listen.
How the parents spent several months looking for their son “behind the checkpoints”, obtained the terrible truth from the “people’s republic”, survived the identification of the body, did not go crazy while the forensic examination dragged on, brought home in a plastic bag what was now called the remains - to bury...
In a criminal case initiated in territory controlled by Ukraine,
one of the witnesses voluntarily decided to help the investigation - to remove the stone from his soul. He watched the execution in Gorbachevo-Mikhailovka from beginning to end, but knew the killers only by nicknames: Kerch, Zhora, Buba. Their names and other information that irrefutably confirm their identities were established by Stepa’s parents themselves, who monitored social networks and sites like “Russian Spring” around the clock.
Photos of “Kerch” (Pogodin), Zhora (Moskalev) and Buba (Sukhomlinov) were also found in abundance.
The witness identified everyone and later came to Kramatorsk, since Gorbachevo-Mikhailovka is still under the control of the “DPR,” to conduct an investigative experiment - a reconstruction of the events he saw: how Styopa was executed in broad daylight.
“They kicked me in the leg while I was sitting, tied up, under the commandant’s office. Teeth knocked out. They took us to the river bank. His hands were tied behind his back with tape and his T-shirt was tied over his head. His sneakers were taken off before the execution by the looters. "Kerch" shot in the back of the head. There are five shots in total... Enough details... - my interlocutor closes the notebook.
Mom was confronted with a witness. She heard much more, including the phrase: “I’m sorry I didn’t save your son...” She found more eyewitnesses who, after doubts, agreed, despite their fear, to speak in court. None of the residents of Gorbachevo-Mikhailovka dared to recapture the boy from the bandits. The case was sent to court in November 2015.
In the “DPR”, on the personal instructions of the head of the self-proclaimed republic Zakharchenko, the crime was also investigated. And they found the same people - Pogodin, Moskalev, Sukhomlinov.
Moskalev was even detained and interrogated. Novaya has at its disposal the protocol of this interrogation.
from the interrogation protocol of Moskalev (“Zhora”)
“... at the end of July 2014, V.V. Pogodin arrived in the village of Gor-bachevo-Mikhailovka, who gave the order to the servicemen of the “Kerch” unit to deliver S.V. Chubenko to him. Then Pogodin V.V., without sufficient grounds suspecting Chubenko S.V. in participation in the Ukrainian organization “Right Sector” [ from the editor: ], considering the latter involved in the burning of Anti-Maidan participants in Odessa on May 2, 2014, as well as political and ideological views different from his (V.V. Pogodin), contrary to the ideas of building the Donetsk People’s Republic, he decided to intentionally murder the minor Chubenko S.V.
To carry out these criminal goals, he recruited military personnel from the Kerch unit, M.V. Sukhomlinova. and Moskalev Yu.A., who were informed that Chubenko S.V. is a member of the Right Sector organization [ from the editor: the organization is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia] <...>, for which Chubenko S.V. should be shot.<...>
Sukhomlinov M.V.<...>, being on the edge of the trench, fired a shot at the back of the head of the minor Chubenko S.V., who was on his knees in the trench with his hands tied behind his back. Considering that after the shot Chubenko S.V. showed signs of life, Pogodin V.V. took the pistol from Sukhomlinov and fired at least four more shots into the occipital region of S.V. Chubenko’s head, from which he died on the spot.
Then Pogodin gave an order to Yu.A. Moskalev, who was nearby. (in order to conceal traces of the crime) to bury the corpse of Chubenko S.V.”
Pogodin, Moskalev and Sukhomlinov were accused of murder committed by a group of people motivated by ideological hatred, the court decided to place them in custody. But in April 2015, the DPR prosecutor’s office announced in an official letter: “The actual location of these persons has not been established.”
Moskalev was nevertheless caught in the DPR. He convinced the judges that he personally did not shoot. Styopa's mother was asked to write a statement: I demand compensation for moral and material damage. “I want him to work while in prison for life, and transfer money to the Antoshka orphanage, over which Styopa patronized!” - she answered.
The accused served a short term and fled from Donbass to his homeland, Chuvashia. According to my information, in Cheboksary Moskalev was arrested on an Interpol “red card” - Ukraine put all three of Stepan’s killers on the international wanted list. For unknown reasons, extradition did not occur, and Zhora was released.
Buba (Sukhomlinov) was “lost” in Russia shortly after the crime was committed, and nothing is known about him to this day.
Colonel Novoseltsev remembers the leader “Kerch” (Pogodin) arrested in Crimea several times, who was repeatedly convicted, from peaceful Donetsk:
— A lawless guy, but with connections at the top. Do you understand, right? The Organized Crime Control Department detained him several times, the SBU led him - he turned out every time.
And the Kerch battalion was disbanded and killed by martyrdom of 16-year-old Stepan Chubenko.
Steel
Stalin Chubenko. Photo by Olga Musafirova Stepan's mother's name is Stalin.
“And this name is a derivative of the word “steel”, “steel”, that is, strong, and not from what you thought,” she retorts.
Husband Victor, tall and stately, addresses his wife as “Stalechka.” She teaches Russian language and literature at the school where Styopa studied. A native of Magadan, she has been in Kramatorsk since her marriage - since the early nineties. A citizen of Russia, she has a permanent residence permit in Ukraine. When the whole country learned about what had happened thanks to the media, the young man was posthumously awarded the title of People's Hero of Ukraine (there is such a non-state order established by volunteers), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs asked why Stalin did not accept Ukrainian citizenship.
“With a Russian passport, no one ever oppressed me in Donbass until they came and “protected me.” Let them know that there are Russians who also love Ukraine, but who do not renounce their homeland even now,” she answered.
I spent two days and two nights at Chubenko’s house. They told me about Stepa in the present tense, without tears, they showed me a video (my mother sorted out the archives on the computer).
Here is the goalkeeper of the local Avangard (a great football future, according to coaches, talent plus determination) on New Year’s Eve asking Santa Claus for new knee pads and gloves, slyly indicating the store and price in the postcard (the family lives very poorly). Santa Claus promises to think: “In the meantime, dear Stepa, I’m putting a spelling dictionary under the tree so that you don’t upset me with mistakes.” The tradition of home "cabbage books" and other wall newspapers - who else has such cool parents! - transferred to the city KVN team created by Stepan.
He practices Greco-Roman wrestling, reads Simonov’s military poems at a competition, composes songs and “Plan for the development of children’s and youth football in the Donetsk region”, independent and free beyond his years - a headache for teachers who like tame “average” children, a favorite girls, nanny for kids in the yard, fighter for justice...
— We would like to think: Styopka was shot several days earlier than believed. And he suffered less,” says Stalin.
Parents walked through the summer heat of Gorbachev-Mikhailovka with a photograph of their missing son; in Donetsk they were not allowed on television. “And who do you have it for?” - the locals were interested. And they hid behind fences. The soldiers of the Kerch battalion loved to shoot over their heads just for fun. Some “militiaman” took pity: “I remember this guy. He was given a choice: to fight with us or... (pause) to dig trenches for a long time.” Then they began to lie about the mortar attack, during which all the “robocops” (as the prisoners were called) fled.
Russian citizenship helped the mother get an appointment with Zakharchenko. He promised to help. Soon Chubenko was informed: unfortunately, Stepan was no longer alive. The members of the firing squad were identified. The young man's passport was returned. They said that he was accused of being associated with the Right Sector [ from the editor: the organization is recognized as extremist and banned in Russia] and that he burned people in the Odessa House of Trade Unions...
“On Teacher’s Day,” Stalina clarifies.
“My wife’s hysteria,” Victor shared with me, “happened only once. She found spiritual consolation in faith: everyone is alive with God. And then I tore the cross off my chest and threw it under the bed.”
Look the killers in the eyes
I'm watching a pre-war video. Styopa walks at the head of a small group of football fans with blue and yellow flags. Their faces are covered with scarves or medical masks, like the guys on the Maidan in Kyiv. They chant “Kramatorsk is Ukraine!”, “Glory to the Heroes!” Between them and passersby there is not a street, but an abyss... It is useless to convince and argue. During shelling, he helps elderly neighbors go down to the basement bomb shelter.
The mother tries to separate the war from her son. She goes with him to Russia to tidy up her grandmother’s grave. Stepan can’t stand it and returns before the deadline: “I’m not a rat to hide. Ukraine is in danger!” A risky recognition in a city where even some teachers from their own school campaigned for a separatist referendum.
Stalin has a folder with appeals to various authorities that help her ensure that the murderers are brought to justice. Still wants to look them in the eye. She achieved the almost impossible - official certificates from the State Border Committee of Ukraine and from a similar Russian department. The dates of crossing the state Russian-Ukrainian border “there” and “back” exclude the very possibility of Stepan Chubenko visiting Odessa on the day of the famous tragedy. General Antyufeev, who portrayed the “DPR” Deputy Prime Minister for work with the security bloc, the head of the military police Anosov, the then Minister of Defense Strelkov, and the Deputy Minister of Defense Berezin did not give answers to the mother’s letters.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Lutkovskaya is also silent. The trial of “absentee students” Pogodin, Moskalev and Sukhomlinov in the city of Toretsk (according to the law, the trial is carried out in a place as close as possible to where the crime was committed) has been in an inactive phase for two years. Meetings are constantly being cancelled: either the judge is in the deliberation room on another case, or the prosecutor has not arrived, or the lawyers of the accused have not arrived.
An explanation regarding extradition was received from the reception office of the Prosecutor General of the Russian Federation, Chaika (where Stalin Chubenko wrote in 2015). According to the law, an accused person detained by Interpol cannot be extradited to a private person, that is, the mother of a murdered person, and the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine has not yet addressed this issue. In the second appeal (dated July 17, 2017), Chubenko reminded: Moskalev, who was detained in Russia, has already been released, and they are also working for Pogodin, who is now in a pre-trial detention center in Simferopol. The answer has not yet arrived.
Kerch’s comrades recorded several video messages in which they stated that Pogodin was facing trial for being a militia member. No one mentioned the name of Stepan Chubenko.
Former DPR Defense Minister Igor Strelkov also called for “Kerch” not to be extradited. After his appeal, a number of Crimean and federal media published materials with a general message: the “hero of Novorossiya” cannot be extradited. The State Duma of the Russian Federation got involved: deputies Dmitry Belik and Sergei Shargunov said that they would do everything possible to prevent the “defender of Donbass” from ending up in the hands of Kyiv. And on July 17, the head of the Union of Donbass Volunteers, Alexander Borodai, in an interview with the Novorossiya news agency, said that the extradition of Vadim Pogodin to Ukraine would not take place.
...Together with Stalin I went to the Kramatorsk city prosecutor's office. First Deputy Prosecutor Yaroslav Kosenkov received us and rightly reminded me as a journalist: he has no right to give any comments, everything is done through the press service.
After the visit, Stalin returned home and posted an open appeal to the authorities and society on Facebook: “The Kramatorsk city prosecutor’s office has prepared a package of materials on the basis of which it is necessary to request Pogodin’s extradition to Ukraine, but so far the Kramatorsk prosecutor’s office has not received an official appeal from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, as required by the procedure. Accordingly, the General Prosecutor's Office of Ukraine has not yet addressed the issue of extradition to the Crimean authorities. I believe that the problem is that in the official request the GPU does not know what to call the occupying authorities of Crimea, to whom they should turn. But I am sure that this cannot be a reason for the work done by the investigators to be in vain and justice not to prevail... If the necessary actions are not repeated within 24 hours, I will be forced to turn to the Ukrainian and foreign press and begin protest action at the walls of the Prosecutor General's Office."
The post turned into a bestseller. Journalists, Rada deputies, and representatives of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine called Stalin.
Last Friday, Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Yevgeny Enin publicly announced: he turned to the Prosecutor General's Office of the Russian Federation with a request to extradite Vadim Pogodin, who brutally killed Styopa Chubenko. "Zrady" ( betrayal. —Ed.) no, Yenin warned. International conventions and the practice of courts of supranational jurisdiction indicate the obligation of states to carry out legal cooperation, even if they are in a state of war and occupy parts of their territories.
“You can judge in Russia”
Most of Vadim Pogodin’s associates, upon hearing the name Chubenko, refuse to communicate. Some immediately hang up, others call the case “fictitious”, say that “Kerch” can be tried in Russia, and immediately say goodbye.
State Duma deputy Dmitry Belik forwarded to the editor a response from the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs to his appeal in defense of Pogodin: “In the database of the General Secretariat of Interpol, Ukrainian citizen Vadim Pogodin, born January 16, 1971, has been wanted since 2015 for the purpose of arrest and extradition on the initiative of law enforcement authorities of Ukraine for committing a murder in July 2014.
Currently, the General Prosecutor’s Office of the Russian Federation is conducting an extradition check in the Pogodin case.”
Novaya Gazeta appealed to the prosecutor's office with a request to allow our correspondent to have a short meeting with Vadim Pogodin to find out his position on the charges. Until now (the appeal was submitted on July 18), the issue is under consideration.
Vadim Pogodin: “We captured mercenaries from Sierra Leone as well”
Anastasia Mikhailovskaya: - Today’s guest at the Open Studio is the commander of the Kerch battalion of the DPR Ministry of Defense Vadim Pogodin. Vadim, in your opinion, how did this war begin in Ukraine? Who needs it?
Vadim Pogodin: — The war in Ukraine is necessary for the United States of America: it is, first of all, an attack on Russia, and they do not need Ukraine itself. America lives off wars and the suppression of other states. The first attempt to start a war was in 2005. Then Ukraine was given to their protege, Yushchenko, and as if the war would not have happened. But many Western agents of influence penetrated into Ukraine, and, in fact, these Orange revolutions were prepared. Compare with the same Syrian revolutions, the Libyan ones - this is all one plan, it works everywhere with slight variations. The goal of the current revolution in Ukraine was to start a war. You remember, Yanukovych made any concessions, even to the point that he was ready to limit his powers and completely surrender power to the opposition. But they didn't need this power. They needed a war. A coup d'état took place: Donbass rebelled against it. Rallies began. I thought everything would happen here, like in Crimea, without war, casualties, destruction. But what I saw was a clearly disorganized gathering of people who, angry that a coup d’état staged by America had taken place, went to seize the regional administration.
A.M.: — You were involved in politics before, did you have your own organization?
V.P.: — Until 2004, before this Orange revolution, I was not particularly interested in politics, I had a normal business. But I perceived the revolution as a war, that we were captured by an American agent.
A.M.: Who do you mean?
V.P.: - Well, of course, Yushchenko and the whole company: this Sabbath on the Maidan happened before my eyes. I visited there once - I went to see what it was, Maidan. And then just with friends, to be honest, I flew there once a week to have a laugh: there were only collective farmers there. At first there were many Kievites in the crowd, they went there and looked, some out of curiosity, some out of conviction. But even I, a native Donetsk resident, after spending 3-4 hours on the Maidan, almost started shouting: “Yushchenko.” This is how the constant flashing of flags and rhythmic drumming had an effect on the psyche. Plus, the crowd constantly says the same thing, monotonously. These were trained people who knew how to behave. That is, a coup was clearly being prepared. This is a proven technology. All revolutions are usually fed and nurtured by someone. When the coup happened here, I was outraged. Our organization “We” expressed its indignation on the day of Yushchenko’s inauguration directly on Maidan Nezalezhnosti in front of his podium. There were about 300 people there, standing around us in orange ribbons, clearly prepared. They tried to impose scandals, but we tried not to get involved. Later I went to Kyiv on business and stopped at a shawl camp in Maryinsky Park. My friend was just imprisoned there for political reasons. I stayed in Kyiv and often stopped by this Maryinsky park, supported the people who opposed Yushchenko, for the release of Kolesnikov. There were clearly political repressions, and after 4-5 months he was released. I came from there, I met some young guys there. The idea arose to create a public organization that would fight against the power that America imposed on us. Well, for about six months, maybe a year, they held actions, there at the Donetsk airport - it was creative, Yushchenko, as far as I know, even postponed his visits for some time...
A.M.: — How did Yushchenko postpone his visits, what did you do?
V.P.: — Our organization consists of several people, but in the press it was beautifully inflated that there are 5 thousand of us there. They brought sandbags, barbed wire, hedgehogs... That is, more hype. Clearly, we wouldn’t have stopped anyone there, but it was done...
A.M.: - But Yushchenko did not come...
V.P.: — In 2003, he was not allowed into Donetsk at all. He had to cross the fence, then whole crowds of people chanted and drove him out of Donetsk. This was literally a year, a year and a half before this event. Then they tried us and demanded that we stop the protest at the airport. I remember the judge asking what the hedgehogs and sandbags are for, how many of them? Then he asked why there was barbed wire at the airport? And the barbed wire, as Yulia Vladimirovna promised to fence the Donbass with barbed wire, so we fenced ourselves off.
A.M.: — So, you organized protests long before the current events?
V.P.: - Yes. My business was ruined, and okay, I’m not particularly upset. After some time I went to Crimea to live. I think everything was going well until the first shootings started in Slavyansk. I was worried, but I sat, did work, I had to feed my family. When something really like a war began, I couldn’t stand it, got ready and left...
A.M.: — This war was justified by protests, that is, people really did not want to live under Ukrainian rule, under the rule of the fascists.
V.P.: - You understand, I approach this situation this way: at the moment, Yanukovych is the legitimate president of Ukraine. Is he good or bad? That’s the second question. This must be decided at the elections. And the entire current Ukrainian government, as the majority of people believe, whether there were elections or not, are usurpers who, with a fascist ideology, with the help of an enemy state, seized power in our country. It is clear that Donetsk will not put up with this. Moreover: not only Donetsk - Kharkov, Odessa, Dnepropetrovsk, which are now silent - they were simply crushed and beaten, the same thugs Kolomoisky and everyone else. Of course, we did not want to let enemy forces into Donetsk... Those who agreed to serve the usurpers are, in fact, criminals under the laws of any state. Any European court, if they consider it relevant, will make the same decision. Yanukovych is president. I am not for him, or against him, there is a law that exists. That is, we actually fought for the law. And now we are fighting for the law.
A.M.: — It turns out that you are the only region in Ukraine that fought for a true president and for legitimate power?
V.P.: — We fought for legitimate power in the country. I personally, maybe someone had a different motivation, especially since people looked - Crimea was disconnected, many felt the hope that this would happen quickly. The bulk of people thought that Russia would help. For example, I knew that it would not help, it was impossible to get involved in this situation.
A.M.: - Do you think that Russia could not get involved in this war, so as not to start the Third World War?
V.P.: - Get drawn into the war, of course. You understand, America's goal is to drag Russia into the war. Her goal is not to capture Ukraine, why does she need Ukraine, this piece, well, a fertile land, there are no questions, I love it as part of the Russian Empire, or as part of the USSR, it is as part of the Russian world, whatever you want to call it, but for the USA itself There is no particular point in organizing such a big showdown between the state and Russia.
A.M.: — That is, are you against a united Ukraine or for a united Ukraine?
V.P.: — Of course, I am for a united Ukraine. Everything is our land, you know, since childhood, the song “From Moscow to the very outskirts, from the southern mountains to the northern seas” still sits in me. The only thing is that this united Ukraine, in principle, this is my conviction, should be part of the Eurasian Union or the Russian Federation, or whatever you want, but we have a single Russian world that should be together. In addition, the Potsdam Conference of 1946 established the boundaries of the post-war world. How was it possible to tear apart the country so brazenly?! Three people sat down in Belovezhskaya Pushcha, in principle, without any legal grounds, as far as I know, they divided it by order of a foreign state. For a thousand years, our grandfathers united and built a huge state in which all peoples considered themselves equal. There was a common culture, common customs. We were striving for one thing. We built a common world. And this world was then separated. Well, now the people of Kiev are saying: I don’t need those lands that our grandfathers united, but why, let’s give them up. And we will join somewhere in Europe.
A.M.: - Moreover, Europe does not need this at all.
V.P.: - It’s not necessary, just look - she refuses, this is obvious, we will never be accepted into any European Union in our lives. All they need is to deal with Russia at our expense, this is the most common option. And they wanted to create chaos here. And in the end they arranged it - they achieved it. And that’s why the people of Donbass stood up and began to defend their land. This is called hidden occupation. In 1991 we were simply torn apart into occupation zones. It makes them easier to manage. If Putin had not come to power in 2000, then after Chechnya, after the Peace of Khasavyurt, Russia would have been torn apart in the same way. The goal is small states, an appendage of raw materials, so that the “golden billion” can live well. This all shows, and current events also show this. Has Europe rushed to help Ukraine? It helps only with military forces to fight the war, but financially, where is it? No. You just need to look at things wisely, calmly abstract yourself from what is being blown into your ears from all sides.
A.M.: — So, despite the fact that Putin did not send troops, you are still for Putin?
V.P.: — Well, of course, I just understand, I’m sure that the majority of Russians, Vladimir Vladimirovich, really want to help us, but they don’t have the right. We seem to be outside the law now, but we are fighting for the truth.
A.M.: — Do you think that Russia cannot send troops to Ukraine because there is an agreement, as I understand it, right?
V.P.: — There is an agreement with America, which guaranteed on the part of Russia and America, when we removed nuclear weapons, for unknown reasons, that they would protect our sovereignty, roughly speaking. Although, first of all, it was the Americans who violated it by pushing Yushchenko into power.
A.M.: - And what kind of agreement is this?
V.P.: — An agreement that Russia and America guarantee immunity. If Russia now sends troops into Ukraine, then, strictly speaking, it will violate this treaty. America will have the right to start a third world war, considering itself that it has the right to do so.
A.M.: — So, you think that they are now speculating on this agreement? And accordingly, because of this they put pressure on us...
V.P.: — Well, that’s why, yes. And in principle, how can Russia send in troops? What will happen next? Then the guerrilla war will begin in the Carpathians.
A.M.: — That is, America will pay for the partisan movement...
V.P.: - Of course, this is what everything was originally designed for, I’m telling you, these battalions there, the “Right Sector”, everything else, remember how many years they studied abroad there, there are cadres, they studied for in order to wage war. After all, they did not think for a second that Yanukovych would hand over power to them. Do you look at where government professionals are building the economy or something else? They didn't think. We thought about starting a war according to the usual scenario. Gather a crowd of sacrificial sheep, there is no other way to call them. Then, when they go to disperse them, shoot them, this has happened more than once in other countries. Shoot, and on this basis start a guerrilla war in western Ukraine. That's all. We would have to, like our people, we are one people, keep the economy afloat. But it was impossible to raise it, because the war is going on, sabotage and everything else, it would spread to both Crimea and Russia. This is 100%.
A.M.: — Because Yanukovych left like that, do you think it was the right step?
V.P.: — I think the right step is 100%. There is no need to be a genius here. Everything was calculated on the fact that Yanukovych would go to disperse the crowd, shots would start, people would get hurt, and, as always, America would start: the criminal regime of Yanukovych beats its people, supported by Russia. And a war would start somewhere in the Carpathians, forests, it would be a difficult war, an unnecessary war. And everywhere, throughout the world, we would be criminals who tyrannize their people. Although there would be terrorists sitting there, just as Poles, Americans, and blacks are fighting against us now...
A.M.: - Did you see them there?
V.P.: Yes, of course, I saw it. Moreover, we captured mercenaries from Sierra Leone, but we personally took them with documents and everything. We immediately handed him over to the third department, let them deal with it. There I saw foreign prisoners more than once. I saw killed Poles, more than one. Yes, the Poles - the entire Donetsk airport is mostly Poles. The Ukrainians show some Ukrainians there, but the majority of the Poles are fighting there. Mercenaries.
A.M.: — Do you think that with Yanukovych’s departure like this, we mixed the cards for the Americans?
V.P.: — We 100% mixed the cards for the Americans, of course.
A.M.: - Now many people accuse Igor Ivanovich Strelkov of starting the war. I understand that he supported the mood of the people who themselves wanted what happened?
V.P.: — Igor Ivanovich, in my opinion, is a truly Russian person. What do you mean he started a war? He set up a border in Slavyansk against the scum who seized power. All. Why was it necessary to attack Slavyansk? He didn't go to attack. How did he start the war? Those who attacked him unleashed it. After all, the referendum had already taken place before this. He held the defense after the will of the people. Those who went to attack him started the war. That's all.
part 2
A.M.: - It turns out that those who went to attack him, in fact, they... We cannot say that you are fighting against the Ukrainians, against the people. As I understand it, you are fighting against fascism?
V.P.: — Ukrainians are Ukrainians, and “ukrops” are “ukrops.” These are the fascists. I can’t even condemn them now, let alone condemn them, I feel sorry for them. This is American technology. People who thought one thing a year ago are now thinking completely differently - everything is upside down in their heads. I don’t know how they do it, really, but their brains are completely turned upside down. These are our people who have to be killed now, who are coming to kill us and bombing our cities. I know many refused. But nevertheless, a war broke out, hatred arose, we began to hate them, they began to hate us. In the end, they got what they got - a full-scale war within their own people. Sometimes the position of many Russians is incomprehensible to me - the “dill”, the Ukrainians, so-and-so... No! Ukrainians are exactly the same as Muscovites, or exactly the same as people in Vladivostok. It’s just that if Vladimir Vladimirovich, since 2000, has slowly begun to pull the country away from this American threat, then we have been brainwashed all this time – especially in Western Ukraine. And, in fact, what happened was what happened – dislike of one’s own people for their own people. That's all.
A.M.: - So this is again according to Sharpe’s plan - to quarrel the Slavic people within themselves?
V.P.: - Of course, they need the war to be between their own people, to create a quarrel. Just imagine, this war happened, blood was shed on one side and on the other. I believe that in principle we will make peace, although this requires titanic efforts.
A.M.: - What could be the way out for reconciliation?
V.P.: — Well, if it’s realistic, it seems to me that the frosts have started now. I would like to freeze this situation at least until spring. Let, if that part of Ukraine wants to live together with Europe, let them live with Europe for some time, feel all the delights of European life, look, if they lack the example of the Greeks, Spaniards, Italians, whose standard of living has dropped terribly - let it they will feel it. I think maybe then it will begin to become a little clearer in their heads who the true enemy is. It’s clear - we need to carry out intensified propaganda...
A.M.: Do you think that if hunger and cold start there, they will turn their weapons against their own rulers?
V.P.: - Hunger and cold are the best. Even in religion, hunger and cold cleanse very well. Let them fast for a little while. No, God forbid, I don’t mind, what if they start an economic boom there, what if Europe and America throw their energy into making Ukraine prosper? I will also be glad and happy - great: our brothers live well and happily! It’s okay, let them live, we don’t interfere with them.
Continued below video.
Today I had the opportunity to communicate personally with Vadim Pogodin (call sign “Kerch”), who was recently released from a pre-trial detention center, where he was accused of shooting a Ukrainian lawmaker in the summer of 2014.
Vadim was threatened with extradition to Ukraine, but at the moment there are no significant claims from Russian legislation against Pogodin.
During communication (Vadim was passing through Sevastopol), we were able to learn several interesting details about this case.
1. Pogodin denies that he shot Chubenko. At the same time, he directly told me that whoever gave the order to shoot him did everything right and he sees nothing wrong with the fact that this character was shot. It was people like Chubenko who came to Donbass and began to kill its inhabitants and destroy cities, so it is not surprising that some of the punishers and their accomplices were overtaken by retribution. In principle, I already wrote before that Chubenko is clearly not a character worth grieving for. Now they are simply trying to use the corpse of this enthusiastic right-wing activist as a tool in the information war against the Russian Federation and the DPR.
2. He also believes that if someone wants to accuse him of shooting Chubenko, then let them present supporting documents and examinations that would prove his guilt. Pogodin himself, if necessary, is ready to appear before a Ukrainian court to confirm his innocence there, but he can do this only when the power in Ukraine changes and there is no risk of biased judging, where they are trying to use the case of the execution of Chubenko to denigrate the militia and Russia, trying to use the “they are children” theme, which was played out during the Euromaidan. Well, on top of this there was also a personal conflict with some functionaries of the DPR and the structures of influence of the Ukrainian oligarchs, which allowed Ukraine to play on these internal contradictions between the militia commanders.
3. He was released through a formal legal procedure, since during his detention, Ukraine never bothered to provide any documents proving Pogodin’s guilt, so there were no grounds for further detention and extradition. Once the 40 days required by law had passed, they were released. Actually, contrary to assumptions about some kind of extra-legal nature of the release of “Kerch”, he completely passed the 40-day extradition check https://superinf.ru/view_helpstud.php?id=1133, as a result of which no legal grounds for extradition were found. So everything was done according to the law. At the same time, in Ukraine itself, Pogodin is not considered an accused, but only a suspect. That did not stop Ukrainian propaganda from molding him into a “bloody executioner” without trial. Pogodin also has an official Ukrainian certificate of no criminal history, which he is unfoundedly accused of, trying to fashion him into a “criminal authority who served the DPR.” In fact, it is quite obvious that they tried to make Pogodin the victim of a rather primitive information campaign, which fell apart when it came to considering the facts.
4. Publications in defense of Vadim Pogodin and the intercession of prominent commanders of the first wave of the militia made it possible to disrupt the information campaign aimed at denigrating Pogodin and the associated discredit of the Russian Federation, which ultimately did not extradite him to Ukraine, which caused such irritation in Ukraine, since the game being played out the information campaign failed. No legal evidence was presented, the attempt to present Chubenko as an “innocent boy” fell apart when an invoice surfaced regarding his participation in helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the punitive operation in the Donbass and the pre-Euromaidan passion for fascism, which led him to the path where he threw Molotov cocktails at Berkut fought with the police of the “Yanukovych occupation regime”, propagated the ideas of the “Right Sector”, assisted the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the capture of the Kramatorsk airfield, a trip to besieged Donetsk and finally death from several bullets in an unknown pit.
5. Vadim Pogodin was among those who, in the most difficult days of the birth of the DPR, defended the nascent new state, and when today we see in the DPR a fully-fledged state, we understand that the basis of its existence lies in the military labor of those who in the spring and summer of 2014, with arms in hand, he defended him from the “new Europeans” who denied the residents of Donbass the right to live as they consider correct, trying to force them to accept the results of the coup d’etat and voluntarily agree to a “change of consciousness.” But unlike Odessa and Mariupol, in Donbass they received a full-fledged rebuff, which they had never received before. That’s why they hate the militia commanders, trying to kill or denigrate them in order to erase the shame of the defeats of 2014-2015. Vadim is grateful to everyone who came out in support of him and that people do not forget those who stood up to defend Novorossiya in 2014.
Vadim Pogodin faces extradition to Ukraine
His story and tragedy seem to intersect with the tragedy of Colonel Yuri Budanov.
Both of them are natives of the Donetsk region. The Chechen war became the only war. And the other is a civilian one, in the south-east of Ukraine.
Just as Budanov was once accused of murdering 18-year-old Elza Kungaeva, presumably a Chechen sniper, now the ex-commander of the Kerch militia battalion, 46-year-old Colonel Vadim Pogodin, is accused of shooting a 16-year-old Right Sector youth and therefore wants to be extradited to Ukraine.
Vadim Pogodin (far right). Photo: Movement “Novorossiya”
Now Vadim Pogodin is in a pre-trial detention center in Simferopol and is awaiting extradition to Kyiv. The day before, an appeal to keep him in Russia was considered and rejected.
Opinions were divided: was Pogodin a criminal or did he act in wartime conditions and cannot be tried in the usual manner? Or maybe he was framed at all, and he didn’t kill anyone?
Ukrainian "ultras" demand revenge. Unexpectedly, the current head of the DPR, Alexander Zakharchenko, also agrees with them, having personally promised the mother of murdered Stepan Chubenko that his killer would be punished.
"It's just a rag"
Summer 2014. The hottest. In Donbass they firmly believe in the imminent victory of Novorossiya and the “Russian Spring”. Volunteers are sent in batches to the DPR and LPR to protect their brothers. One of those who also abandoned everything and rushed to the unrecognized republics was an ordinary Crimean businessman Vadim Pogodin. As he later recalled, he thought that he had come for a week, but stayed for six months. His call sign was “Kerch,” and the battalion he commanded soon began to bear the same name.
“The whirlpool of events pulled me in,” Kerch said in a documentary about himself and his guys. “We tried to maintain order in Donetsk, hold the defense. They caught the Nazis, the Right Sector (banned in Russia - MK), somehow with They detained their coordinator in the Donetsk region by shooting. They dispersed the “United Ukrainians” and supporters of those who carried out an armed coup in Kyiv. A war broke out, hatred arose, we began to hate them, they began to hate us.”
16-year-old Kramatorsk schoolboy Stepan Chubenko, despite his young age, was a fierce pro-Ukrainian patriot. Nobody denies that the teenager supported radical ideas and committed extremist acts. On the contrary, they give him credit for it. In his free time from hatred, Stepan loved to play football and was an avid KVN player, no different from his peers.
The mother of the murdered man, Stalin Vyacheslavovna, later told the Ukrainian media how much her boy liked to go to rallies for the glory of Ukraine and how he was often taken to the police station for hooliganism. The parents tried to evacuate their politically active son to his grandparents in Russia, but he did not want to leave for any reason, to sit out on the ruins when there was such a movement around.
“I remember they called me from the police and said: come and pick up your son. It turned out that after one of the rallies the guys were detained and taken to the police station. And Styopa himself went - and what, they say, I was there too! So why were my friends taken away? , but I’m not there?.. I arrive - and he’s slumped on a chair - and he’s telling the police how to love your homeland,” the mother recalled.
Partisan, not without this, once Stepan and his friends secretly removed the DPR flag hanging in the square, Stepan brought it to the apartment, nailed it in the toilet. “It’s just a rag,” he told his mother dismissively.
As a result of much persuasion, the boy was finally sent to stay with his grandfather. Out of harm's way. But he didn’t stay there for long; after units of the Ukrainian Armed Forces entered Kramatorsk, abandoned by the militia, he got ready to go home. He didn’t tell his parents exactly when he would arrive and on what train - he thought he would return as a “surprise.”
“We asked him to go through Kharkov,” the mother recalled. “I still don’t know why he took tickets for the train going through Donetsk... He was detained in Donetsk. As they later said, for a blue and yellow ribbon.”
"Hands were tied with tape"
This is one version of the actions of Stepan Chubenko, according to another, he had no trace of youthful maximalism, as well as a blue and yellow treacherous ribbon, and a “surprise” for his parents with his arrival. Stepan purposefully went to Donetsk as an intelligence officer of the “Right Sector”, he must was to carry out their orders, and it is possible that he would commit sabotage. 16 years old is not such an infant age that you don’t understand what it’s like if you get caught, you won’t get a pat on the head. According to the laws of war.
Without waiting for Stepan, his mother went to Donetsk to find her son, mothers are the same everywhere, at all times. In her persistence, she managed to break through to Zakharchenko and he unexpectedly gave the go-ahead to search for the guy. Only after that did they start talking to the woman.
“At first we were told that Styopa “escaped during a mortar attack.” However, different people told completely different stories about this “escape”: either he ran away on his own, or with some girl... We spent days walking everywhere we could We showed the photo of our son to probably every resident. They asked if they had seen this boy. The answer was either silence or the question “who is he for?”
The body of Stepan Chubenko was found and exhumed in the presence of his parents only in the fall of 2014. The shot man's hands were tied behind his back with tape. There are traces of interrogations on the body. The corpse had already begun to decompose. DNA testing to determine that this is exactly the person was carried out, by the way, in Russia, in Rostov-on-Don. Zakharchenko promised his mother that Stepan’s killers would definitely be found and judged. In the end, the boy was not even seventeen... He simply started playing adult games. Forgetting that there is only one life. And those who shot him, in turn, forgot that in front of them was almost a child.
The investigation was carried out both in Ukraine and in the Donbass - the case became very high-profile, according to one version, three militiamen, the commander of the Kerch battalion Vadim Pogodin and his subordinates, were put against Stepan’s wall. One of the suspects was even arrested, although later released due to lack of evidence; the other two, including battalion commander Pogodin, had been in Russia for a long time by that time. They left the DPR not to hide, but simply, apparently, became disillusioned with this war.
“Kerch” - Vadim Pogodin was detained at the end of June in the Crimean Alupka. He lived there quietly for the last two years; after returning from Donetsk, his battalion was disbanded and people went home. Ten days ago, Pogodin was summoned to the law enforcement agencies on a completely different matter, supposedly just to talk, and suddenly he was charged - he is wanted by Interpol at the request of Ukraine. Like a killer. On top of that, Pogodin’s documents that allowed him to legally stay in Russia were expired. He still has Ukrainian citizenship and a Ukrainian passport. That is, now “Kerch” is threatened not only with extradition, but also with deportation. And in the very near future.
“So that he shoots the boy?”
Lately, the war in Donbass has been going smoothly. People are tired, exhausted, exhausted, they don’t trust anyone anymore. All the most famous commanders of the Donetsk and Lugansk republics were either killed, like Motorola, Mozgovoy, Dremov, Bednov, Givi, Ishchenko, or returned to Russia. Like "Kerch".
In not a single interview, and there were many of them; a whole documentary was even made about the Kerch battalion and its commander in Russia, did Pogodin say that he had once dealt with a young enemy spy with a blue and yellow ribbon on his shirt. Of course, one is not proud of such feats. But was there even the crazy Styopa Chubenko in Vadim Pogodin’s life or not?
“I believe that Vadim was simply set up, there were personal hostile relations between the head of the DPR Zakharchenko and Kerch, in the summer of 2014 there was an active struggle for spheres of influence in the republic, thus putting Pogodin on the criminal wanted list and presenting him as a murderer, with him they just settled scores. Pogodin is charismatic, smart, the militias listened to him. But he clearly interfered with the leadership of the Donetsk Republic, and therefore he was first forced out of the DPR, and then made a murderer,” suggests Eldar Khasanov, former chief of staff of the DPR Ministry of Defense, now living. in Moscow.
“I also believe that Kerch did not kill this teenager. For him, the battalion commander, to personally shoot some green kid? I will never believe this! This criminal case was deliberately falsified,” indignantly lieutenant colonel Ioann Semenov, a Donbass volunteer and Hero of Russia for Chechnya. - I am familiar with this case, and I want to add that Stepan Chubenko, a representative of “OnizheDeti” since the Maidan, a participant in the massacre on May 2 in Odessa on the Kulikovo Field, was caught as a “spotter” in the war. impossible. But the order for his liquidation was given by others, not by Kerch. The case is egregious, but if Russia now extradites Vadim Pogodin, then this will be a precedent. All the militias and volunteers who are wanted by Interpol in Ukraine will immediately be under the threat of extradition. but they all appear on the “Peacemaker” website. Yes, our guys have been detained more than once before, trying to deport them to Ukraine, but this is the first time such a famous commander, a battalion commander, has been arrested. If this lawlessness is committed and he is still extradited, they will rise up. All".
State Duma deputy Dmitry Belik addressed an open letter to the head of the Russian Ministry of Internal Affairs with a request to sort out this issue as soon as possible: “Giving away a fellow countryman for defending his homeland, especially in light of today’s relations with Ukraine, is unacceptable.”
The murder of Stepan Chubenko took place on the territory of Ukraine, captured by the separatists, so the Kyiv authorities believe, which means that the alleged criminal must answer according to Ukrainian law and sit in a Ukrainian prison. Russia has no right to interfere; its business, according to international law, is to extradite the arrested person. But only.
Another war
“Today this is a completely different war, a dirty war, and for other goals, I am now discouraging all my friends who are going to Donbass from going there, because it is simply stupid to die for no reason, the authorities, who are pursuing a policy of conciliation with Kiev and do not stands up for his own,” says Eldar Khasanov, chief of staff of the DPR Ministry of Defense in 2014.
Once again, Russia is at a crossroads - “you can’t leave extradition.” Once again, Ukraine makes requests to Interpol demanding the expulsion of a “criminal” - this is how it presents former militias and volunteers, accusing them of often far-fetched criminal offenses.
Whom the Ukrainian authorities were also looking for through Interpol channels allegedly for car theft. He was detained in Russia along with his family, two small children, with whom he was flying to Crimea on vacation. Anton spent a little more than a month behind bars, waiting to be extradited to Kyiv, but they still managed to defend him.
Many are much less fortunate. Their stories of participation in the volunteer movement in Donbass are not so interesting and no one will loudly defend them, and the newspapers will not write about them either. So few people know that in Russia since last year there has been a spate of trials, trials of former militia members. Ukraine, not recognizing that there is a civil war on its territory, demands their extradition as ordinary criminals, murderers, robbers, swindlers...
Thus, militiaman Alexander Bezrukov was recently expelled to Kazakhstan from Russia. “He is a citizen of Kazakhstan, but he is accused of criminal charges allegedly for murder and robbery, but in fact they are looking for him as a separatist,” says Andrei Sedlov, of the Novorossiya movement. “Currently in Alma-Ata they are also considering a bill on “mercenarism,” and “If this document is approved, then Bezrukov will be handed over again - this time to Kyiv.”
War is like war, and Yuri Budanov, as you know, was fully responsible for the death of that Chechen girl, first serving time behind bars, then being shot in broad daylight on a noisy Moscow street...
If Vadim Pogodin is really to blame for the death of 16-year-old Stepan Chubenko, and he was just a naive schoolboy and not an enemy agent, then, of course, he must be punished. But who will prove or disprove this, three years have already passed since the hot year of 2014, there are really no witnesses or evidence left...
Handing over "Kerch" to warring Ukraine today means dooming it to bullying, torture and painful death.
Pogodin’s comrades, militias and volunteers, all rose up at once and organized themselves, which had not happened to them for a long time, in order to protect their battalion commander. But the last word remains with Russia. “You can’t let go,” - where will the comma be placed this time?
Today I had the opportunity to communicate personally with Vadim Pogodin (call sign “Kerch”), who was recently released from a pre-trial detention center, where he was accused of shooting a Ukrainian lawmaker in the summer of 2014.
Vadim was threatened with extradition to Ukraine, but at the moment there are no significant claims from Russian legislation against Pogodin.
During communication (Vadim was passing through Sevastopol), we were able to learn several interesting details about this case.
1. Pogodin denies that he shot Chubenko. At the same time, he directly told me that whoever gave the order to shoot him did everything right and he sees nothing wrong with the fact that this character was shot. It was people like Chubenko who came to Donbass and began to kill its inhabitants and destroy cities, so it is not surprising that some of the punishers and their accomplices were overtaken by retribution. In principle, I already wrote before that Chubenko is clearly not a character worth grieving for. Now they are simply trying to use the corpse of this enthusiastic right-wing activist as a tool in the information war against the Russian Federation and the DPR.
2. He also believes that if someone wants to accuse him of shooting Chubenko, then let them present supporting documents and examinations that would prove his guilt. Pogodin himself, if necessary, is ready to appear before a Ukrainian court to confirm his innocence there, but he can do this only when the power in Ukraine changes and there is no risk of biased judging, where they are trying to use the case of the execution of Chubenko to denigrate the militia and Russia, trying to use the “they are children” theme, which was played out during the Euromaidan. Well, on top of this there was also a personal conflict with some functionaries of the DPR and the structures of influence of the Ukrainian oligarchs, which allowed Ukraine to play on these internal contradictions between the militia commanders.
3. He was released through a formal legal procedure, since during his detention, Ukraine never bothered to provide any documents proving Pogodin’s guilt, so there were no grounds for further detention and extradition. Once the 40 days required by law had passed, they were released. Actually, contrary to assumptions about some kind of extra-legal nature of the release of “Kerch”, he completely passed the 40-day extradition check https://superinf.ru/view_helpstud.php?id=1133, as a result of which no legal grounds for extradition were found. So everything was done according to the law. At the same time, in Ukraine itself, Pogodin is not considered an accused, but only a suspect. That did not stop Ukrainian propaganda from molding him into a “bloody executioner” without trial. Pogodin also has an official Ukrainian certificate of no criminal history, which he is unfoundedly accused of, trying to fashion him into a “criminal authority who served the DPR.” In fact, it is quite obvious that they tried to make Pogodin the victim of a rather primitive information campaign, which fell apart when it came to considering the facts.
4. Publications in defense of Vadim Pogodin and the intercession of prominent commanders of the first wave of the militia made it possible to disrupt the information campaign aimed at denigrating Pogodin and the associated discredit of the Russian Federation, which ultimately did not extradite him to Ukraine, which caused such irritation in Ukraine, since the game being played out the information campaign failed. No legal evidence was presented, the attempt to present Chubenko as an “innocent boy” fell apart when an invoice surfaced regarding his participation in helping the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the punitive operation in the Donbass and the pre-Euromaidan passion for fascism, which led him to the path where he threw Molotov cocktails at Berkut fought with the police of the “Yanukovych occupation regime”, propagated the ideas of the “Right Sector”, assisted the Ukrainian Armed Forces in the capture of the Kramatorsk airfield, a trip to besieged Donetsk and finally death from several bullets in an unknown pit.
5. Vadim Pogodin was among those who, in the most difficult days of the birth of the DPR, defended the nascent new state, and when today we see in the DPR a fully-fledged state, we understand that the basis of its existence lies in the military labor of those who in the spring and summer of 2014, with arms in hand, he defended him from the “new Europeans” who denied the residents of Donbass the right to live as they consider correct, trying to force them to accept the results of the coup d’etat and voluntarily agree to a “change of consciousness.” But unlike Odessa and Mariupol, in Donbass they received a full-fledged rebuff, which they had never received before. That’s why they hate the militia commanders, trying to kill or denigrate them in order to erase the shame of the defeats of 2014-2015. Vadim is grateful to everyone who came out in support of him and that people do not forget those who stood up to defend Novorossiya in 2014.
