Vasily Popov

Full name: Vasily Mikhailovich Popov

Date of Birth: 27.12.1976

Occupation: war criminal, major general, chief of staff of the 20th Guards All-Russian Army of the All-Russian Army, call sign “Plakha”

Place of birth:

  • rf, Chuguevsky settlement, Urzhumsky district, Kirov region, Kirov oblast

Places of residence:

  • rf, Rostov region, Novocherkassk, 36, Atamanskaya st. (actual)
  • rf, Moscow, Moscow, Leninsky pr. 121/1, bldg. 3, sq. 96
  • rf, Stavropol region, Stavropol, Sovetskaya street, 16.
  • AR Crimea, village. Perevalnoye, Oktyabrskaya str. 51 (2016-2019)
  • rf, Republic of Adygea, Maykop, 17 Krasnooktyabrskaya St. (2015)
  • rf, Krasnodar region, Krasnodar, Kalinina str., 350/9, sq. 21
  • 4 Devichiego Polya Ave., Moscow, Russia (2006-2008)
  • rf, Kabardino-Balkar Republic, Prokhladny (early period)

Data:

  • passport: 8301194434
  • TIN: 071684533177
  • SNILS: 16960014066
  • driver’s license: 2328192620
  • personal number: U-743493

Phone:

  • +79128009001

Wife: Yulia Igorevna Popova

Date of birth: 15.11.1985

Place of birth: г. Stepnogorsk, Kazakhstan

Data:

  • passport: 8016353321
  • TIN: 027901133587
  • SNILS: 11431196010
  • driver’s license: 9927734970

Transport:

  • Haval F7X, license plate number B326EA761, VIN XZGFF06A3NA616724

Mail:

Phone:

  • +79128009002 (tg ID: 7373456123)

Sister: Victoria Mikhailovna Popova

Date of birth: 01.04.1979

Place of birth: г. Chashniki, Vitebsk region, Belarus

Place of residence:

  • rf, Smolensk, Valentina Grizodubova st., 1D, sq. 21

Data:

  • passport: 6624191349
  • TIN: 071604169870
  • SNILS: 14428180755
  • driver’s license: 9927734970

Mail:

Phone:

  • +79164676398

Son: Mikhail Popov

Date of birth: 28.01.2004

Place of birth: rf, Prokhladny, Kabardino-Balkar Republic

Data:

  • passport: 3915228099
  • TIN: 071614385101
  • SNILS: 14487496409

Mail:

Son: Alexander Vasilyevich Popov

Date of birth: 06.07.2007

Place of birth: rf, Prokhladny, Kabardino-Balkar Republic

Data:

  • TIN: 716879350750
  • SNILS: 14697701101

Mail:

Phone:

  • +79966292803 (tg ID: 1108571427, @Saneyk37)

Vasily Popov: biography

Popov Vasily Mikhailovich was born on December 27, 1976 in the village of Chuguevsky, Kirov region. Personal number U-743493. In 2006-2008 he was trained at the All-Russian Military Academy in Moscow, training officers of operational and strategic level.

He commanded the 126th Independent Guards Coastal Defense Brigade (v/h 12676, village Perevalnoye, Crimea), a unit formed after the illegal annexation of the peninsula in 2016-2019 . Already in February 2020 recorded a flight from Latakia – Hmeimim airbase, Syria. After the Crimea, he served as chief of staff of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division, stationed in Novocherkassk. On June 24, 2024, he was appointed commander of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division operating in the Kupyansk direction of Kharkiv Oblast.

Currently holds the position of Chief of Staff of the 20th Guards All-Russian Army of the Russian Armed Forces, which is headquartered in Voronezh. Call sign “Plakha”. The 20th Army is part of the “West” force grouping and operates in the Limansk and Kupyansk directions with the 3rd and 144th Motorized Rifle Divisions. The Chief of Staff is the first deputy commander and is responsible for planning operations, assigning combat tasks to the divisions, organizing artillery strikes and interacting with neighboring armies.

Vasily Popov’s war crimes

Since February 2022, Popov, as chief of staff of the 150th Motorized Rifle Division, was in overall command of the 102nd Motorized Rifle Regiment during combat operations in Luhansk and Donetschyna. Under his command, the regiment suffered serious losses among its personnel. There are recorded facts when the Rashist fled the battlefield, abandoning his subordinates and equipment. Since 2023, the 150th MSD has been used as a base for the formation of Storm Z assault units.

While commanding the 126th Coastal Defense Brigade in Crimea from 2016-2019, Popov participated in consolidating the illegal military occupation of the Ukrainian peninsula.

On June 24, 2024, he was appointed commander of the 144th Motorized Rifle Division operating in the Kupyansk direction. All three motorized rifle regiments of the division and a tank regiment are fully engaged in combat. Strikes on civilians are systematically recorded in the division’s area of responsibility. Artillery shelling of Kupyansk killed two women in December 2023 . And in April 2025 hit the city, two killed. In June 2025 shelling of a residential neighborhood – one killed, one seriously wounded. On the same day, four KABs on the village of Vilhuvatka.

Currently, as Chief of Staff of the 20th Guards All-Volunteer Army, he has command responsibility for planning operations and organizing strikes on Ukrainian territory in the Limansk and Kupyansk directions.

Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office opened criminal proceedings under Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. All those involved will be identified and prosecuted for their crimes.

Vasily Popov’s family

Popov is married to Yulia Igorevna Popova, a native of Kazakhstan. Rashist has two sons – Mikhail and Alexander, both natives of Prokhladny. Rashist Popov’s sister Victoria Mikhailovna lives in Smolensk.

Read also