Ukrainian officials on Sunday accused Russian forces of carrying out a “deliberate massacre” in Bucha as images of what appear to be dead civilians littering the city’s streets sparked global outrage.
The evidence of the apparent atrocities was provided by the retreat of Russian forces from Kyiv, Bucha and other areas, just northwest of Kiev.
Agence France-Presse reported Saturday that its journalists saw “at least 20 bodies on a single street” in Bucha. The agency reported that all of the corpses were dressed in civilian clothes and that at least one of them had his hands tied behind him with a piece white cloth.
According to Mykhailo Podolyak, an adviser to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy: “These people were not in the military. They didn’t have weapons. They posed no threat.”
“How many more such cases are happening right now in the occupied territories?” he asked.
Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk claimedTo Reuters Saturday that those left on the streets “were shot in the back of their heads. So you can imagine what kind of lawlessness they perpetrated here.”
Zelenskyy spokesperson Sergey Nikiforov told BBC’s “Sunday Morning” that authorities found in Bucha and other areas where Russian troops have departed had “mass graves filled with civilians.”
“We found people with hands and legs tied and bullet holes in the back of their heads,” he said, “and half-burned bodies as if somebody tried to hide their crimes.”
“I have to be careful with my wording,” he said, but “it looks exactly like war crimes.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba tweeted Sunday, “Bucha massacre was deliberate,”
In a statement, Kuleba called on the International Criminal Court to “thoroughly collect all evidence of Russian war crimes” in Bucha and other Kyiv-area towns retaken by Ukrainian forces.
Sunday’s condemnation by European officials was also directed at Bucha.
We are shocked by the reports of horrific horrors in Russia’s former territories.
It is urgent that an independent investigation be conducted.
Perpetrators and perpetrators will be held accountable.
— Ursula von der Leyen (@vonderleyen) April 3, 2022
“Shocked by haunting images of atrocities committed by Russian army in Kyiv liberated region,” tweetedCharles Michel, President of the European Council, added #BuchaMassacre.
Michel stated that the E.U. was also in preparation for additional sanctions against Russia.
Russian authorities, on the other hand, denied the reports regarding Bucha as “fake” and suggested Ukrainians created the mass grave.
