Andrey Syrotyuk: Biography
Andrey Ivanovich Syrotyuk was born on August 4, 1988, in the town of Litovko, Amur District, Khabarovsk Krai. He began his service with the rank of senior lieutenant and successively held the positions of platoon commander, company commander, and battalion commander. In 2017, he served as a platoon commander in military unit 385384. He rose through the ranks from senior lieutenant to lieutenant colonel and brigade commander—a career advancement built on the war against Ukraine.
He commanded the 25th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade (Military Unit 29760), stationed in the village of Kalinets in the Naro-Fominsk District and in Luga in the Leningrad Region, which was reorganized in early 2025 into the 68th Guards Motorized Rifle Division. He currently commands the 1486th Motorized Rifle Regiment of the 11th Army Corps of the Russian Federation in the Kupyansk sector. His call sign is “Eagle.” It is noteworthy that in his colleagues’ phone books, he is listed as “Eagle Droppings,” “Plucked Eagle,” and “Rear-Echelon Rat”—eloquent descriptions from people who know him personally.
In August 2025, he was personally awarded the title of Hero of Russia by Russian Defense Minister Belousov. He openly posts Nazi slogans on social media. According to Russian propaganda, it is this very man who is bringing “denazification” to Ukraine.
War crimes committed by Andriy Syrotiuk
Since February 2022, units under Syrotyuk’s command have been committing systematic crimes against the civilian population of Ukraine in the Kupiansk area of Kharkiv Oblast. The 25th Guards Motorized Rifle Brigade, commanded by Syrotyuk and reorganized into the 68th Motorized Rifle Division in early 2025, has been operating in the Kharkiv sector since the first days of the invasion. During the occupation of Kupiansk in 2022, a torture chamber was set up in the district police station. Approximately 150 civilians passed through it. At least two people were tortured to death, and more than 90 have been officially recognized as victims. An indictment against 18 individuals involved has been submitted to the court.
On October 2, 2025, soldiers from the 121st Regiment under Syrotyuk’s command changed into civilian clothes, infiltrated the outskirts of Kupiansk disguised as local residents, and shot at point-blank range two men and a woman who were attempting to evacuate deeper into territory controlled by Ukraine. The SBU has officially identified Syrotyuk as the commander who gave the order to shoot. An investigation is underway under Part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine.
However, Sirotyuk is also known among his subordinates as “the butcher.” The phrase “Orel assaultman” in the 121st and 122nd regiments has become synonymous with the word “suicide bomber.” He watched live as his own kamikaze drone struck his own soldiers, who refused to advance while wounded. He personally killed soldier Petr Vladimirovich Shestakov, call sign “Sever,” by blowing him up with a grenade. He forced fighters he disliked to wear Ukrainian uniforms, attached green tape to them, and ordered fire directed at them during assaults. He ordered soldiers to be tied to trees in handcuffs and beaten until they agreed to participate in the assault. At night, fires were lit near the tied-up soldiers, and they were doused with cold water in the freezing cold.
He took bribes—starting at 100,000 rubles—for hospital admission, rear-area duty, and the right to call family members. Money and phones were confiscated from newly arrived soldiers, who were required to hand over 100,000 rubles “for platoon needs.” One soldier from a group of 10 who returned alive from an assault was forced, instead of receiving medical treatment, to write a statement explaining why he had survived, after which he was sent on the next assault. A close associate of Syrotyuk, with the call sign Veles, was sentenced to life in prison for the execution of six soldiers from the 27th Separate Motorized Rifle Brigade. Syrotyuk tried to cover up the case.
Relatives of the soldiers who died under his command sent appeals to Putin, the Russian Ministry of Defense, the Investigative Committee, and the Red Cross. Despite all the documented crimes, in August 2025, Belousov personally awarded Syrotyuk the “Gold Star” of the Hero of Russia. Added to the “Army of Criminals” and “Black Epaulets” registries.
All those involved will be identified and held accountable for their crimes.
Andrei Syrotyuk’s family
Syrotyuk is married to Anna Viktorovna Baksheeva, a native of the Khabarovsk Krai. The couple lives in Ramenskoye, Moscow Oblast. In June 2024, while the Russian soldier’s subordinates were dying near Kupyansk, his wife and daughter were vacationing in Turkey at the 5-star Mirage Park Resort for 220,000 rubles. Their daughter, Darina, was born in 2013 in Moscow. The Russian soldier’s father is a native of the Ternopil region of Ukraine. Syrotyuk’s brother also has military service under his belt and enjoys vacationing in Crimea.
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