Ukrainian prosecutors said yesterday they were investigating 10 Russian soldiers for alleged war crimes in Bucha, as the visiting UN chief urged Russia to co-operate with a probe into atrocities.
The discovery of bodies in civilian clothes, found on the street or buried in shallow graves in the Kyiv suburb after a Russian retreat shocked the world and prompted allegations of war crimes.
Some of the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs. Ukrainian officials accused Russian troops of massacring hundreds of civilians, but Moscow denied any involvement and claimed the images were fakes.
The prosecutor general’s office in Ukraine said the servicemen of Russia’s 64th motorised infantry brigade are suspected of “premeditated murder”, cruel treatment and other violations of the laws and customs of war during their occupation in March of Bucha, northeast of Kyiv.
Making his first visit to Ukraine since Russia launched its full-scale invasion on February 24, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres toured Bucha and two other places where the alleged war crimes occurred, decrying war as “an absurdity in the 21st century” and “evil”.
“I imagine my family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black. I see my granddaughters running away in panic,” the UN chief said in Borodianka, another ruined town, as he backed an International Criminal Court investigation into the accusations.
“I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept, to co-operate with the ICC,” he implored the Kremlin.
The UN head also met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. On Tuesday, he met Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, repeating calls for both countries to work together to set up “safe and effective” humanitarian corridors in war-torn Ukraine.
Nearly 5.4mn Ukrainians have fled their country since the invasion, according to the United Nations, and more than 12mn others are displaced internally.
“We feel bad, we shouldn’t be standing here,” said Svitlana Gordienko, a nurse forced to relocate to the southern city of Zaporizhzhia, as she queued for food at a humanitarian hub.
“We’re left with only one hope: to return home,” added pensioner Galina Bodnya.
Ukraine’s Defence Minister Oleksiy Reznikov warned of “extremely difficult weeks” as Moscow tries “to inflict as much pain as possible”.
The Kremlin reiterated its warning yesterday, saying Western arms deliveries “threaten” Europe’s security. Western allies remain wary of being drawn into war with Russia but have stepped up military support.
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres (centre) walks surrounded by security personnel during his visit in Borodianka, outside Kyiv, yesterday. (AFP)
