After the slaughter believed to have committed by Russian forces in Bucha, which is located on the outskirts of Kyiv in Ukraine, western countries promise even tighter sanctions for Russia, including in the energy sector. Countries also promise to supply arms to Ukraine.
A local official in charge of organising the exhumation of bodies of civilians killed in Bucha told AFT that there were 57 bodies found in a mass grave near a church in Bucha. «There is a big grave there,» AFP journalists were told by the chief of Bucha rescue service.
The mass grave is located behind a church in the city centre. Some of the bodies are either not buried or are partially buried, said AFP journalist.
After Russian forces were driven from Bucha, terrifying sights of attackers’ committed atrocities surfaced. According to Bucha’s mayor Anatoly Fedoruk, there are corpses everywhere in the city. People were apparently shot in the back of the head. Some of them had white bands wrapped around their arms, supposedly as an indication they are not armed. Aggressors are believed to have shot men and women. A 14-year-old boy’s body was also found among the shot victims.
Initially it was reported approximately 300 bodies were found in mass graves after Bucha’s liberation. The total number of civilians killed is unknown, because dozens of corpses still litter the streets.
Videos shot in Bucha showing the state of streets in the city have already caused a wide response around the world.
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
German Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for a careful investigation of the crimes Russia is accused of in Ukraine. «I demand access to those areas for international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, so they can document those atrocities independently,» Scholz said. Those who committed the crimes and those who ordered them need to be brought to justice, stressed the chancellor, but he refrained from using the words «war crimes». Scholz said frightening images came from Ukraine this weekend: «Streets are littered with bodies. […] There are reports of women, children and the elderly among the victims.» The German chancellor urges Russia to agree on a ceasefire and end the war.
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
German Minister of Foreign Affairs Annalena Baerbock admits the photos from Bucha are unbearable. «Russian President Vladimir Putin’s uncontrolled violence slaughters entire families and knows no borders,» she wrote on Twitter, requesting the ones responsible for war crimes to be brought to justice. The minister also announced plans to tighten sanctions against Russia and provide more support to Ukraine.
French President Emmanuel Macron condemned the slaughter in Bucha and announced that Russian government should be brought to justice. «Hundreds of civilians were killed on the streets,» Macron wrote on Twitter.
Similarly, Italy condemns the killings of civilians in Bucha. The country has announced Moscow needs to be brought to justice. «Images of crimes committed in Bucha and other regions liberated by the Ukrainian military are shocking,» as mentioned in Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi’s statement.
«The merciless slaughter of unarmed civilians is unbearable and horrifying. Russian authorities need to end the war, end violence against civilians, and should be brought to justice for everything that has happened,» Draghi said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the images with people killed in Bucha are a «punch in gut».
«This is the reality of what’s going on every single day as long as Russia’s brutality against Ukraine continues,» he added.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called what happened in Bucha «horrific» and «absolutely unacceptable», adding that the images «show a brutality against civilians we haven’t seen in Europe for decades,» Stoltenberg told CNN.
At the same time, he said he is sceptical about Russia’s claims of pulling troops from Kyiv. «What we see is not a withdrawal, but we see that Russia is repositioning its troops. We should not in a way be too optimistic because the attacks will continue and we are also concerned about potential increased attacks,» NATO chief told CNN.