What We Know About What Happened in Ukraine’s Bucha

[Rogue Valley]

What We Know About What Happened in Ukraine’s Bucha - The Moscow Times

Ukraine accused Russia of having committed a "massacre" in Bucha, where the bodies of civilians were found in the streets.

www.themoscowtimes.com

Collecting the bodies of executed civilians in Bucha, Ukraine northwest of Kyiv.

4.4.22
Ukraine on Sunday accused the Russian army of having committed a "massacre" in Bucha, a town northwest of Kyiv recently retaken by Ukrainian troops, where the bodies of civilians were found in the streets. This is what we know at this stage about what happened in Bucha. Bucha, a commuter town of around 37,000 outside Kyiv, as well as the nearby town of Irpin, saw fierce fighting since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24. Bucha was occupied by the Russian army on the third day of the war, on Feb. 26, and remained inaccessible for more than a month. Shelling stopped on Thursday and Ukrainian forces were only able to fully enter the town a few days ago. AFP on Saturday saw the bodies of at least 22 people in civilian clothes on a single street in Bucha. One of them was on the pavement near a bicycle, others had bags of provisions near them. One body had his hands tied behind his back and most of the bodies were scattered over several hundred meters on one street. Another corpse was found near the station, under a blanket. Witnesses told AFP that they saw Chechen fighters amid the Russian forces.

The cause of death of these people could not be immediately determined, but at least two of them had large head wounds. The skin on the faces of the corpses looked waxy, suggesting that they had been there for at least several days. According to the mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk, the victims were killed by Russian forces with a "bullet in the back of the neck." The corpses of 57 people were found in a mass grave, the chief of local rescue efforts Serhiy Kaplychniy, said as he showed AFP the trench where the bodies lay. The mass grave is behind a church in the town's center. Some of the bodies were either unburied or partially buried. They were all dressed in civilian clothes. On Sunday Mayor Fedoruk said 280 people were buried in mass graves because they could not have be buried in cemeteries that were within firing range. "We found mass graves. We found people with their hands and legs tied up... with bullet holes in the back of their heads," presidential spokesman Sergiy Nikiforov told the BBC Sunday.

War correspondants from AP, Reuters, CNN. and Agence France-Presse accompanied Ukrainian forces as they liberated the northwest Kyiv suburbs of Bucha and Irpin. What they discovered was horrific. The bodies of executed civilians were simply left to rot in the streets. Many had their hands or legs bound. From what I understand, recovery of the bodies was very difficult. Long ropes had to be attached to the corpses to flip them over because the Russians had boobytrapped some corpses with landmines. The Russians also boobytrapped homes and places where children might go such as a playground. Also discovered was a mass grave with bodies in black garbage bags, some with an arm or a leg protruding. Roughly 20 dead were uncovered with dozens more partially covered with dirt. The mayor said there should be about 280 more bodies deeper in this grave.

Here's what a CNN team on the scene of a mass grave in the Ukrainian town of Bucha saw

The horrors of Russia's occupation are becoming clear as Ukrainian forces retake the greater Kyiv area.

www.cnn.com

 

[Nomad4Ever]

I saw a video of Ukrainian troops helping recover the body of a young girl who was shot on the first day of the invasion. Her mother had shoddily buried her in the back yard and they were moving her to a proper grave.

Meanwhile from Russia:

The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed the extensive footage was "fake," saying "not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions," during Russia's occupation of Bucha. The Russian government has consistently responded to allegations of civilian casualties inflicted by Russian forces with blanket denials. (Source)

Anyone still holding water or downplaying Russia's actions really can just be morally condemned at this point. As clear as it was already, it is just self evident that Russia had zero good intentions with their invasion. Certainly not denazification.

 

[Rogue Valley]

During the first week or two after the invasion, this sub-forum was jumping.

Now, not so much. Americans have a very short attention span and so the news-cycle moves on.

But the Russian trolls still show up here everyday.

 

[Nomad4Ever]

During the first week or two after the invasion, this sub-forum was jumping.

Now, not so much. Americans have a very short attention spans and so the news-cycle moves on.

But the Russian trolls still show up here everyday.

Yeah and there were so many people complaining that Ukraine was getting more coverage than Yemen or Palestine or whatever. As if 90% of the coverage wasn't because it was an exciting new conflict. If this drags on long enough it will get exactly as much coverage as the near decade long Donbass conflict did....which is almost zero.

 

[Rexedgar]

During the first week or two after the invasion, this sub-forum was jumping.

Now, not so much. Americans have a very short attention spans and so the news-cycle moves on.

But the Russian trolls still show up here everyday.

What do you think the reason for these war crimes is?
1) Intentional, orders from commanders.
2) Poorly disciplined lower ranks, no senior control
3) Mass propaganda against their neighbors
4) other, I can’t think of any others

There were a few messages on Twitter that give some credence to the dislike between the two countries

 

[Rogue Valley]

What do you think the reason for these war crimes is?
1) Intentional, orders from commanders.
2) Poorly disciplined lower ranks, no senior control
3) Mass propaganda against their neighbors
4) other, I can’t think of any others

There were a few messages on Twitter that give some credence to the dislike between the two countries

At Bucha was Russia's 331st Airborne Regiment. This unit participated in the massacre of Ukrainian militia volunteers at Ilovaisk, eastern Ukraine in 2014.

Depending on who you believe, 400-1,000 Ukrainians were shot to pieces within a humanitarian corridor.

Also at Bucha were Chechens supposedly led by Ramzan Kadyrov, well known for their brutality.

Chechen warlord Ramzan Kadyrov, a major Putin ally, claims to be personally fighting in Ukraine just outside Kyiv

Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov responded to speculation that he had come in person to the battlefield by claiming that he was advancing on Kyiv.

www.businessinsider.com

 

[Hamish Howl]

What do you think the reason for these war crimes is?
1) Intentional, orders from commanders.
2) Poorly disciplined lower ranks, no senior control
3) Mass propaganda against their neighbors
4) other, I can’t think of any others

There were a few messages on Twitter that give some credence to the dislike between the two countries

I think it's option 1.

This many soldiers don't run wild on their own. But it doesn't actually matter whether the commanders ordered it or if they were simply unable to maintain even rudimentary discipline. The results are the same. Russian soldiers have proven that they are only good for rape and murder of civilians.