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On Sunday, the town of Bucha in Ukraine allegedly became the site of a “massacre” amid the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis. Vitaly Klitschko, the mayor of Kyiv, told AFP that over 300 civilians were allegedly killed in the town.
Following the tragic news, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the venue and described the incident as a “genocide.” He said:
“These are war crimes and it will be recognised by the world as genocide. You stand here today and see what happened. We know that thousands of people have been killed and tortured with extremities cut off, women r*ped, children killed. It's genocide.”
Trigger Warning: The following videos and images may contain disturbing content.
Several images and footage showing dead bodies on the streets of Bucha also surfaced on social media and left the world in shock, leading to global condemnation of the incident.
Exploring the location of Bucha in Ukraine
Bucha is a small town located in the Kyiv Oblast region of Ukraine. As per Google Maps, the town is situated nearly 28 kilometers away from downtown Kyiv. The region has an estimated population of 35,000 people and serves as a neighbor to the towns of Irpin and Hostomel.
The settlement began during the construction of the Kyiv-Kovel railways in 1898. The town initially served as a train stop for the Kyiv-Kovel railway, resembling the one in the modern-day city of Irpin.
Reports suggest that Bucha served as the headquarters of the 1st Ukrainian Front commanded by General Vatutin during World War II, prior to the liberation of Kyiv from the Nazis in December 1943.
What happened in the town of Bucha?
Bucha has been at the forefront of the ongoing Russia-Ukraine crisis since February 2022. Russian forces reportedly entered the region on March 12, but Mayor Anatolly Fedoruk announced that it was recaptured by Ukraine on March 31.
However, new media reports at the beginning of April 2022 claimed that several civilians were killed as part of a “massacre” in the town. On Saturday, AFP reporters allegedly spotted shelling holes in apartments, wrecked cars on the streets, and roads littered with debris.
It was also mentioned that people in the town were left exposed to extreme cold temperatures without access to water or electricity. AFP also claimed that at least 22 people in civilian clothes were found dead on a single street in Bucha.
Meanwhile, Chief of Local Rescue Efforts Serhiy Kaplychniy told the publication that the bodies of another 57 people in civilian clothes were discovered in mass graves behind a church in the town center.
Presidential spokesman Sergiy Nikiforov reported a similar incident to the BBC on Sunday:
“We found mass graves. We found people with their hands and legs tied up… with bullet holes in the back of their heads.”
That same day, Mayor Fedoruk said over 280 people have been buried in mass graves. Kyiv Mayor Klitschko provided a similar estimate to AFP while dubbing the situation as “genocide”:
“We believe that more than 300 civilians died. This is not a war, it is a genocide, a genocide of the Ukrainian population.”
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called the town a “horror” and accused Russian forces of the massacre:
“The horrors that we’ve seen in Bucha are just the tip of the iceberg of all the crimes (that) have been committed by the Russian army. Half measures are not enough anymore. I demand most severe sanctions this week, this is the plea of the victims of the r*pes and killings.”
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky also likened the situation to a “scene from a horror movie.” Footage and still images from the town also showed dead bodies lying on the streets with their hands tied and shot at close range.
Earth observation company Maxar also released satellite photos that showed lifeless bodies lying on the streets after the massacre. However, Russian forces have consistently denied the allegations made against them in relation to the Bucha massacre.
As per Reuters, ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova claimed that the shocking footage from the town were “ordered” to disrupt the peace talks between Moscow and Kyiv and blame Russia:
“In this case, it seems to me that the fact that these statements (about Russia) were made in the first minutes after these materials appeared leaves no doubt as to who 'ordered' this story.”
Despite the denial, the situation in Bucha caused major international outcry. US President Joe Biden openly condemned the incident and said the opponent should be “held accountable” for the scenario.
The President mentioned that he would also want to impose new sanctions on Russia. On Monday, France and Germany announced their decision to expel Russian diplomats in response to the latest discovery.
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock also confirmed that the expulsion of the 40 envoys was in response to the "unbelievable brutality.” Lithuania also said that it was expelling the Russian ambassador due to the latest reports of atrocities.
Ukrainian authorities have also reported that they would be investigating “possible war crimes” in the wake of the incident.
