Ukraine has started a war crimes investigation after bodies of civilians were found strewn on the streets as Russian troops pulled out of areas around the capital Kyiv.
Bucha and Irpin were symbols of resistance to the Russian invasion, but they are now becoming synonymous with the war’s most serious abuses.
Ukrainian authorities say the bodies of 410 civilians have been found in the areas around Kyiv so far.
Russia, without evidence, says the photos and videos are “a staged performance” by Ukraine.
But what officials and reporters have seen there in the wake of the Russian withdrawal has left many in deep shock.
Two or three days after Russia launched the 24 February invasion of its neighbour, a column of Russian tanks and armoured personnel carriers (APC) that had arrived in Bucha was attacked by Ukrainians, stalling the advance.
The Russians reinforced and stayed in the area on the outskirts of the capital, unable to move forward much, until they began pulling out on 30 March.
Many civilians had fled the area – but some stayed behind, trying to avoid the Russians. It is during this period that Russians reportedly started going house to house.
Witnesses have described how Russian soldiers fired on men fleeing after refusing to allow them to leave through humanitarian corridors.
Officials and reporters who went in after the Russians had left saw tanks and APCs, alongside at least 20 dead men lying in the streets.
Many had extensive wounds – some had been shot through the temple, as if executed. Some had their hands – or legs – tied. Others had clearly been run over by tanks.
Satellite images taken by Maxar show a 14m (45ft) mass grave in Bucha near the church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints.
Human Rights Watch has gathered evidence of alleged war crimes in Bucha and other cities and towns under the control of Russian forces.
In a report published on 3 April 2022, it recorded an account of an incident in Bucha on 4 March in which Russian soldiers forced five men “to kneel on the side of the road, pulled their T-shirts over their heads, and shot one of the men in the back of the head”.
Three of the bodies have been identified as that of the head of the village Olga Sohnenko, her husband and her son. The fourth has not been identified yet.
In another incident, a mother and son were also killed and buried by neighbours in the courtyard of the block of flats.
On 7 March, drone footage showed a car on a road outside Kyiv, from which a man emerges with hands raised. His body falls to the ground.
Maksim Iovenko, 31, was shot dead by Russian forces that were positioned at the roadside. His wife Ksenia, who was in the car, was also killed.
The HRW report includes the case of a mother in the city of Kharkiv, who was raped by a 20-year-old Russian soldier inside a school where civilians were sheltering.
Source- BBC
