Russian troops left Bucha near Kyiv with corpses lying on the streets. People called it the “Bucha Massacre.” The invading forces killed several civilians after “torturing the whole nation.”
Bucha Massacre Left Several Dead, Ukraine Seeks Probe
It seems like the Russian troops are not yet content with just bombing the area. They killed civilians, too, who could not defend themselves. In Bucha, near Kyiv, countless dead bodies lie in the streets after Russia pulled out its forces.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned the incident, held the Russian leadership responsible for such a gruesome act, and requested an investigation. The horrible situation enraged Ukraine and Western leaders after discovering the mass grave and hundreds of dead people in Bucha.
Satellite images demonstrate a 45-foot-long excavation near a Ukrainian church. According to a private US company, it’s a mass grave dug after Russian troops left Bucha. A Reuters journalist claimed seeing casualties sprawled on the streets, 23 miles northwest of Kyiv’s capital.
According to Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova, said they have found 410 dead people in towns near Kyiv. Ukrainian prosecutors already examined 140 of them.
Russia Denies Allegations of Bucha Massacre, Requests UN Security Council Meeting
The Russian government is calling for a meeting with the UN Security Council regarding the allegations of the Bucha Massacre. They want to address allegations that their troops were not responsible for any brutalities against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha town.
Moscow denied the accusations but claimed that Kyiv exhibited shots of the dead bodies. A senior Washington official criticized Russia’s UN move and suggested it was deliberated to “fake outrage.”
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov retorted that all their troops left Bucha on March 30th. The images and footage of dead bodies shown were “another impetus.” He declined accusations of Russian assaults on civilian targets and the use of cluster bombs and vacuum bombs as false.
“During the time this settlement was under the control of Russian armed forces, not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions. For the entire time that the city was under the control of the Russian armed forces and, and afterwards, until today, in Bucha, local residents freely moved around the city and used cellular communications,” the ministry said in a statement.
Rights Group Indicts Russian Troops of ‘Obvious War Crimes’
Human Rights Watch (HRW) expressed that Russian military forces engaged in “obvious war crimes.” They discovered that Russian troops committed numerous cases of laws-of-war violations in Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Chernihiv. HRW published the statement in Warsaw a day after the bodies of dead civilians were found on the streets of Bucha town.
HRW claimed it interviewed ten people in Bucha including victims, witnesses, and local residents, either in person or by phone. Some of them didn’t provide their full names because of fright. Additionally, the rights group said that Russian militaries arrested five men and killed one of them on March 4. Another summary execution happened on Feruary 27 killing all six arrested men.
“The cases we documented amount to unspeakable, deliberate cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians. Rape, murder, and other violent acts against people in the Russian forces’ custody should be investigated as war crimes,” said Hugh Williamson, HRW’s Europe and Central Asia director.
He added that Russia has an international sovereign obligation to fairly investigate purported war crimes by its troops. Soldiers were also involved in pillaging civilian property. It includes food, clothing, and firewood. Those who perpetrated these abuses are liable for war crimes, according to a report.
International leaders condemned Russia over Bucha Massacre and reported attacks in the towns near Kyiv. Graphic images of dead civilian with hands tied behind their backs are proof of war crimes done by the Russian military forces.
According to Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk, Motyzhyn mayor has been murdered while under Russian forces’ hands. She added that Russian soldiers arrested 11 mayors and community leaders.
Zelenskyy Seeks Support At the Grammy Awards Over Russia’s War Crimes
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy calls for support as he appeared in the Grammy Awards, telling the story of Russian invasion. During the pre-recorded message he spoke in English saying:
“Our musicians wear body armor instead of tuxedos. They sing to the wounded in hospitals, even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today to tell our story. Tell the truth about the war on your social networks, on TV, support us in any way you can any, but not silence. And then peace will come to all our cities.”
After Zelenskyy’s message, John Legend sang his song titled, “Free.” He performed with Ukrainian musicians Mika Newton and Siuzanna Iglidan, and poet Lyuba Yakimchuk. During the performance, images from the war serves as the backdrop.
Image Source: Міністерство внутрішніх справ України/Wikimedia Commons (Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International)
