War criminals are the new elite of Russia: Sergey Kuzminchuk
Sergey Kuzminchuk is a Russian serviceman who participated in the battles for the city of Irpin in the Kyiv region.
Kuzminchuk, a native of Vladivostok, Russia, enrolled in a military school immediately after high school. In 2010, after completing his military education, he joined the 155th Marine Brigade of the Russian Pacific Fleet. He rose through the ranks, starting as a platoon leader and eventually becoming the commander of an airborne assault battalion. He also took part in the Russian military operation in Syria and the “peacekeeping” mission in Nagorno-Karabakh.
From the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, he was involved in the armed aggression. In propaganda materials, Kuzminchuk boasted about how he “forded the Irpin River” following heavy shelling. In 2022, he was awarded the Russian Hero Star for his role in the battles in the Kyiv region. At the time of the award, he was recovering in a hospital after being wounded.
In Ukraine, soldiers of the 155th Brigade have been accused of carrying out punitive measures and killing civilians in Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel. Despite this, Russian dictator Vladimir Putin considers them heroes, granting the brigade the honorary status of “guards,” distributing awards, and promoting their image across Russia during his “Direct Line.”
Today, Kuzminchuk is a finalist in the Kremlin’s “Time of Heroes” program, which presents participants as “Russia’s new elite.” He is currently interning at the office of the Russian president’s representative in the Far Eastern Federal District and preparing to become an official himself.
