image source,Getty Images
Mass burial outside a church in Bucha
Ukrainian authorities launched a war crimes investigation after the Russian troops withdrew from the area around the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, where many civilian bodies were found on the streets.
The locations of Bucha and Irpin, once symbols of Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion, are now becoming synonymous with the worst brutality of the invasion.
In the town of Butcha, outside Kyiv, media found at least 20 bodies in the streets. Mass graves of different sizes have also been discovered in the local area.Ukrainian authorities say 410 civilian bodies have been found so far in the area around Kyiv
The international community was in an uproar over this. UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the flow of “photographs of civilians killed” in the town of Butcha.
US President Joe Biden has called for the trial of Russian President Vladimir Putin for war crimes.
However, Russia has denied the allegations, calling it a “criminal and provocative act” by the Ukrainian army. Moscow also said it would present actual evidence to the UN Security Council to prove Russia’s innocence.
What happened in Butcha Town?
Two or three days after Russia launched its invasion of its neighbor on February 24, a train of Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers (APCs) arriving in the town of Butcha was attacked by Ukrainians, hampering the advance of the Russian army towards Kyiv. As a result, Russia continued to increase military aid, but it remained stagnant, and had no choice but to start withdrawing from the area on March 30.
Before the Russian troops withdrew, the Russians began to search from house to house. Witnesses described to reporters how Russian soldiers refused residents to leave through a humanitarian corridor and shot civilians fleeing.
After the Russian troops left, local officials and journalists who entered the town of Butcha saw Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers parked on the side of the road, and at least 20 civilians lay dead on the street. Some corpses were shot through their temples, as if executed. Some of the corpses had their hands and feet bound, while others were apparently run over by tanks.
According to satellite images taken by the US company Maxar, there is a newly built pit about 14 meters long near St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in the town of Butcha.
Satellite images show mass burials outside a church in Butcha
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“This guy is cruel,” Biden said of Putin, adding that he thought Putin “was a war criminal.” U.S. officials said they were backing an international team of prosecutors traveling to Buga to gather evidence.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited the town of Butcha and accused Moscow of genocide and war crimes. The Ukrainian government said it had opened a war crimes investigation after the bodies of 410 civilians were found in the area around Kyiv. Some were found in dirt pits, and some bodies had their hands tied and were apparently shot at close range.
Kyiv officials also accused Russian troops of killing a village chief, her husband and son in the village of Motoichin, as they were assisting Ukrainian troops in the area.
Biden said: “You remember I was criticized for calling Putin a war criminal. But now you see the tragedy in Butha. Putin is a war criminal … But we have to collect all the details, so that war crimes trials.”
He added that what happened in the town of Butcha was “outrageous” and said it was important that Putin would be “held accountable”. He added that the United States intends to seek further sanctions on Russia.
The British mission to the United Nations said on its official Twitter account: “The UK, as the rotating presidency of the Security Council, will ensure that the truth about Russia’s war crimes is made public,” adding that the UK would expose Putin’s role in launching the aggression. the truth.
Moscow insists that the killings were faked by Ukrainian officials.
In addition, France and Germany have also expelled or are preparing to expel local Russian diplomats in response to the allegations.
image source,Getty
Berlin has expelled 40 Russian diplomats, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said on Monday (April 4), in response to an “incredible act of brutality” by the Kremlin in Ukraine .
In addition, according to French media reports, former German Chancellor Angela Merkel issued a statement on Monday (April 4) in response to Ukraine accusing her of being “pro-Russian” when she was in power, saying that she refused to start admitting Ukraine to NATO in 2008. (NATO) process takes responsibility, but does not believe that year’s decision was biased.
On Sunday night (April 3), Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky criticized NATO for “secretly refusing” Ukraine to join the organization in 2008 in an attempt to appease Russia for its vicious actions in the town of Butcha, when he specifically named German Chancellor Angela Merkel should be responsible for the political decisions that dominated NATO that year. He questioned how Merkel now faces the massacre in the town of Butcha in Russia.
Merkel’s spokesman said: “In view of the atrocities found in Butcha and elsewhere in Ukraine, the government and the international community are on Ukraine’s side and all efforts to end Russia’s barbarism and war against Ukraine have been paid off. The full support of the former prime minister.”
Lithuania said it would expel the Russian ambassador, also because of atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
However, Moscow’s ambassador to the United Nations said Russia would present “evidence” to the UN Security Council to prove that the West’s statement about Boucha was a lie. At a news conference at United Nations headquarters in New York, the Russian representative criticized Ukraine and its “Western sponsors” for fabricating evidence.