[imagesource: Twitter / @LatestAnonPress]
The visuals coming out of Bucha, a town north of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, may well be a turning point in Russia’s invasion of the country.
South Africa will likely continue to sit on the fence, but condemnation of Russian President Vladimir Putin and the trail of death his soldiers have left in Ukraine has been swift.
Multiple reputable sources have verified footage showing dead bodies strewn across the town’s streets, some with their hands tied behind their backs,
The Washington Post reports:
Russian forces withdrew from Bucha, a town of 37,000 northwest of Kyiv, and other suburbs of the capital in recent days, leaving a trail of destruction.
Russian troops fought for control of Bucha starting on Feb. 27 — three days after the invasion began — and “relentless shelling” trapped residents in homes and shelters without electricity or gas, according to Human Rights Watch. The fighting took out the city’s water tower a week later.
Human Rights Watch interviewed residents who described Russian soldiers looting houses and recounted hearing reports of civilians being shot while attempting to get water. One woman said Russian soldiers had threatened to shoot her if she tried to retrieve her husband’s body.
When journalists finally arrived in the city following the withdrawal of Russian forces, what they found is surely evidence of extensive war crimes.
Anatoly Fedoruk, Bucha’s mayor, has stated that an estimated 270 to 300 local residents had been buried in two mass graves.
Bucha’s head of rescue services said a mass grave was found behind a church, with body parts sticking out of the loose soil. They found 57 bodies in the trench.
We’ll start with some of the images widely shared on social media.
A warning that they show graphic scenes:
It looks like scenes from a horror movie. But it is not!
This is the result of the murders of hundreds of civilians by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, in the town of #Bucha near #Kyiv.PUTIN NEEDS TO BE STOPPED NOW! pic.twitter.com/zXDgDm6P6N
— Anonymous (@LatestAnonPress) April 2, 2022
Humanity has been defeated in #Bucha today, the city northwest of #Kyiv. Just as it was in Bosnia in the ’90s.
WE-HAVE-SEEN-THIS-BEFORE!
History keeps repeating itself and it seems there’s absolutely nothing we can do about it. War is senseless. Cruel. #Ukraine #WarCrimes pic.twitter.com/GF28q1klju
— Ika Ferrer Gotić (@IkaFerrerGotic) April 2, 2022
The Telegraph’s reporting leaves nothing to the imagination:
Some bodies have been burned, others bear signs of torture. Gunshot wounds to the head and hands bound behind the back speak of deliberate executions…
Piled in cellars, hastily buried, or left where they fell, corpses have been found in their hundreds in numerous locations in Kyiv suburbs.
Most shockingly, these dead were once civilians, wearing civilian clothes, some wearing white armbands to further denote their non-combatant status. Women and children are among them…
Experts believe the violence was premeditated, consistent with Russian methods in past wars such as Chechnya, where brutalising civilians was seen as an effective method of crushing resistance.
As has become standard, Russia has denied that it carried out any such atrocities and called allegations of civilian deaths “yet another provocation” by Ukrainian officials.
Dmitry Peskov, a spokesman for the Kremlin, said that it is “clear to the naked eye that there are a lot of fakes and staged shots”.
This is one of the most widely shared clips:
This is #Bucha. The outskirt of #Kyiv. Russians were killing people with their hands tied behind their backs and left the bodies near the road. I am shaking. #StopPutinNOW pic.twitter.com/ffzUV8d5xo
— Kira Rudik (@kiraincongress) April 2, 2022
Russian officials have tried to discredit the footage, saying one of the dead bodies moves as the vehicle drives past.
That is very easily explained:
The Russian Defense Ministry reposted a post stating that in a video from #Bucha, “a dead man moves his hand.”
On the video in the better quality, you can clearly see that this is a glare on the glass. (bottom right corner) pic.twitter.com/NrDdTls8gB
— NEXTA (@nexta_tv) April 3, 2022
Wladimir Klitschko, the former boxer and brother of Kyiv mayor Vitaliy, shared a video stating this was a genocide:
This is Genocide.#Genocide #FreeUkraine #StandWithUkraine #StopTheWar #Ukraine pic.twitter.com/NfLePlWhIl
— Klitschko (@Klitschko) April 3, 2022
The Ukrainian Ministry of Defence shared a number of graphic videos outlining the murder of civilians:
Liberated Bucha near Kyiv. Horrible evidence of russian war crimes committed during the occupation of the city.
Never forget.
Never forgive.#BuchaMassacre#RussianWarCrimes pic.twitter.com/ec03jui5AH— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) April 3, 2022
Even gathering up the dead bodies is fraught with danger:
As sleet fell on Sunday rescue workers carried bodies to waiting ambulances. But their recovery work was slowed by the widespread booby trapping of bodies with mines and explosives, an American volunteer in Ukraine’s international legion told The Telegraph.
“It’s worse even than what has been seen [in the media so far],” he said after returning from Bucha on Sunday. “It’s not just in Bucha either but all the towns around it.”
Residents in other suburbs have spoken about finding beheaded bodies dumped in parks.
Ukrainian prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova says at least 410 bodies have been discovered in towns near Kyiv.
Here’s a Bucha resident describing the behaviour of Russian soldiers in the town:
Prominent figures in NATO and other such institutions have increased their criticism of Putin and Russia since these visuals became widespread:
Jens Stoltenberg, NATO Secretary General, said that the latest allegations of war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine showed a “brutality against civilians we haven’t seen in Europe for decades”.
He said: “And it’s horrific, and it’s absolutely unacceptable that civilians are targeted and killed, and it just underlines the importance that this war must end, and that is President Putin’s responsibility to stop the war.
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy also used the word genocide.
Experts say Russian troops are trying to send a clear message that any form of resistance will be met with brutality.
Whether or not that intimidates the people of Ukraine, or ends up strengthening their resolve, remains to be seen but I’m leaning towards the latter.
