Murmansk Governor sits down with a suspected war criminal
"I am happy to see you," Governor Andrei Chibis said as he greeted Sergei Pelipay, the Major General who is suspected of serious war crimes in Ukraine.
The high-ranking military man was welcomed on February 21 to the office of Andrei Chibis. The two men have known each other well for several years.
"I remember our trips to Kharkov Oblast in the beginning of the special military operation. With thrill, I recall our encounters," Governor Chibis told Pelopay.
"I am proud that our warriors from the North are successful [and] my best wishes to you and all the men who are steadily moving towards victory," the Governor added.
Sergei Pelipay was Commander of the 200th Motorised Rifle Brigade in Pechenga, Murmansk region, in the period 2017-2020. He subsequently studied at the Military Academy of the Russian General Staff and was later appointed Head of the 14th Army Corps. In 2024, he was appointed Commander of the 68th Army Corps.
The Major General has spent major parts of the past three years on occupied territory. Until recently, he is believed to have commanded forces that are fighting in the Dnepr river delta.
In his meeting with Governor Chibis, Pelipay admitted that his forces have suffered major losses. He thanked the Governor for supplying military equipment and drones to his units.
"Without your support it would have been very hard to carry our our mission," he said.
"You know what the island zone looks like. It is not always easy to bring ammunition and food to the units in the area, especially after the enemy started to mine also the streams. We suffered heavy losses and tried to figure out for a long time how to clear mines from the place. Thanks to the additional drones that were supplied to us, we found a way to adapt and clear mines from the streams and were able to start to bring out the wounded," Pelipay said.
Pelipay's wife Elena was also present at the meeting.
The Major General is suspected of war crimes. According to a Ukrainian database, he has killed civilians in the Kharkiv region.
The Evocation project accuses the military man of having exerted physical and psychological violence and abuse against conscript soldiers in his role as deputy commander in Pechenga.
According to reports, he has also ignored casualties among his own troops in Ukraine.
Pelipay, who has family roots in Ukraine, has reportedly also conducted war crimes in Syria.
In August 2016, as Chief of Staff of the 200th Motorized Rifle Brigade, he received the “For Merit in Strengthening Combat Cooperation” medal from Syrian Defence Minister Fahed Jassem al-Frej, the evocation.info reports.
When commanding the brigade in Ukraine, his troops were reportedly involved in serious war crimes. The soldiers raped and killed innocent civilians, violating all international norms of law, evocation.info claims.
Only a few days before he met Murmansk Governor Chibis, Sergei Pelipay took part in a ceremony in occupied parts of Donetsk Oblast together with Putin's local rebel leader Denis Pushilin.
