On February 28, 2022 — just four days after the Russian army’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine — Kirill Butylin threw Molotov cocktails at a military enlistment office in Lukhovitsy, a town in the Moscow region. Before the attack, he wrote on the office gates: “I will not go to kill my brothers!” Kirill filmed his action and uploaded the video online along with an anti-war manifesto.
His goal was to destroy the archive of conscripts’ personal files, which, according to his information, was located in the building. He believed this would hinder mobilization in the area. In his manifesto, the insurgent declared: “I hope I won’t see my classmates in captivity or on lists of the dead. I believe this needs to spread. Ukrainians will know that there are people in Russia fighting for them, that not everyone is afraid, and not everyone is indifferent. Our protesters must be inspired and act more decisively. This should also further break the spirit of the Russian army and government.”
Kirill was detained on March 8, 2022, by Belarusian border guards while attempting to cross into Lithuania. In March 2023, the 2nd Western District Military Court in Moscow sentenced Butylin to 13 years in prison, with the first 3 years to be served in a prison facility and the remaining 10 years in a high-security penal colony.
HOW TO HELP
Address for letters:
663180, Красноярский край, г. Енисейск, ул. Декабристов, д. 11, Т-2
Бутылин Кирилл Владимирович 2001 г. р.
It is possible to send letters through the electronic service «Ф-письмо», РосУзник.
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