Mikhail Mizintsev: Australia targets ‘Butcher of Mariupol’

Australia has targeted some of Russia’s biggest names, including the infamous Russian general dubbed the “Butcher of Mariupol”.

Foreign Minister Marise Payne has announced fresh Australian sanctions against Russia including prominent Russian military official Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev, dubbed the “Butcher of Mariupol”.

Appearing in Brussels for the latest round of emergency NATO meetings, Senator Payne reiterated Australia’s relationship with the international community and committed “to imposing the highest costs on those who bear responsibility for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine or hold levers of power”.

Senator Payne announced 67 financial sanctions and travel bans on some of the highest ranking Kremlin officials, taking the toll of Australian sanctions close to 600.

“This latest round of sanctions follows the emergence of evidence of war crimes committed by Russia in Bucha and other towns around Kyiv,” Senator Payne said in a statement.

Chief of the National Centre for State Defense Control Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev in Moscow. Picture: Sefa Karacan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images

Australian Foreign Minister Marise Payne arrives for a meeting of NATO foreign ministers at NATO headquarters, in Brussels. Picture: WALSCHAERTS / AFP

Colonel-General Mikhail Mizintsev is among those sanctioned “for attacks including the bombing of the theatre in which innocent civilians were sheltering in Mariupol”.

The city, which has been a key target for Russia and endured the brunt of Russian bombardment in recent weeks, has been decimated.

Bodies are strewn across the streets while the UN said the situation is “extremely dire”, calling to allow assistance to those stuck.

The UK is among foreign nations to have already sanctioned the infamous Russian general, also accused of ordering the attack on a maternity hospital.

(L-R) Sergei Rudskoi, a senior representative of the General Staff, Defence Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov and Mikhail Mizintsev, head of the Russian National Defence Control Centre, hold a briefing on Russian military action in Ukraine in Moscow. Picture: NATALIA KOLESNIKOVA / AFP

The British government said he is “known for using reprehensible tactics, including shelling civilian centres in both Aleppo in 2015-16 and now in Mariupol – where atrocities are being perpetuated against Ukrainian people”.

Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of Ukraine’s Center for Civil Liberties, posted a photo of the 59-year-old on Twitter last month, writing: “This is Mikhail Mizintsev. He is leading the siege of Mariupol … He has huge experience of destroying cities in Syria.”

Remember him. This is Mikhail Mizintsev. He is leading the siege of Mariupol. It was he who ordered the bombing of a children's hospital, the drama theatre etc. He has huge experience of destroying cities in Syria. We’ll take care of the meeting him in the Hague#RussianWarCrimespic.twitter.com/9mWzoCnofl

— Oleksandra Matviichuk (@avalaina) March 23, 2022

Others included in the Australian sanctions are Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Grigorenko, Minister of Economic Development Maxim Reshetnikov, Deputy Chairman of the Russian State Duma, Aleksander Babakov, and other senior Russian government officials.

“We are also listing the Kremlin-installed so-called ‘mayor’ of Melitopol, Ukrainian Galina Danilchenko, and a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, Oleg Voloshyn, who has been working with Russia to undermine the Ukrainian Government,” Senator Payne added.

Service members of pro-Russian troops sit atop of an armoured vehicle, which moves along a street in the course of Ukraine-Russia conflict in the southern port city of Mariupol, Ukraine April 1. REUTERS/Stringer

The aftermath of the air strike on the Mariupol Drama Theater, in Mariupol southern Ukraine. Picture: AFP/ Maxar Technologies

“We have been working closely with our partners in NATO and the European Union in terms of the strongest possible response to Russia’s unlawful invasion of Ukraine, its wholesale breach of international law and wholesale breach of the UN charter and we will continue to do so.

“We are strongly co-ordinating in relation to sanctions. The imperative is that that absolutely continues because we need to show authoritarian states like Russia that the world stands united overwhelming against them.

“The Australian Government is committed to imposing the highest costs on those who bear responsibility for Russia’s aggression in Ukraine or hold levers of power.

“The Australian Government reiterates our strongest support for Ukraine’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and for the people of Ukraine.”