The Separate Operational Purpose Division or ODON pictured, is a rapid deployment internal security division currently part of the National Guard Forces Command of the Russian Federation. Sinn 2016 ODON’s full official title is that of the Independent Orders of Zhukov, Lenin and October Revolution Red Banner Operational Purpose Division of the National Guard Forces Command of the Russian Federation ‘F. E. Dzerzhinsky’. Often referred to as the Dzerzhinsky Division.
The current commander of the multi-titled force is Major-General Nikolay Anatolevich Kuznetsov.
Kuznetsov’s unit was part of Russia’s illegal invasion of Ukraine and members of his unit systematically participated in acts of sexual violence and rape in Ukraine in March/April 2022.
According to European Council, which has sanctioned Kuznetsov for the behaviour of his troops “The scale and severity of acts of sexual and gender-based violence taking place in Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine speak to ‘planning on a more systematic level’ and Russian commanders being aware of sexual violence by military personnel in Ukraine and, in some cases, having ‘encouraged or even ordered it’. In his capacity as commander of the unit, Kuznetsov is responsible for serious human rights violations in Ukraine, including systematic sexual and gender-based violence.
A 2022 investigation by the United Nations Human Rights Council concluded that “the investigation into sexual and gender-based violence has shown that some Russian Federation soldiers committed such crimes. The age of victims of sexual and gender-based violence ranged from four to 82 years.”
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin said authorities have registered more than 65,000 Russian war crimes since Moscow’s conflict began in February 2022.
Main image: Russian MVD’s Internal troops Separate Operational Purpose Division by Виталий Кузьмин (http://vitalykuzmin.net/ ) – http://vitalykuzmin.net/?q=node/449, CC BY-SA 4.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=22114592
