”Döden och smärtan i Butja är oerhörd” – högen med bevis på krigsbrott växer

The Bucha massacre ([ˈbut͡ʃɐ], BOOTCH-uh) was the killing and abuse of Ukrainian civilians by Russian Armed Forces during the fight for and occupation of the Ukrainian city of Bucha amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. Photographic and video evidence of the massacre emerged on 1 April 2022 after Russian forces withdrew from the city.More than 500 bodies have been found in the aftermath of the incident. Photo evidence showed that corpses of civilians, lined up with their hands bound behind their backs, had been shot at point-blank range, which ostensibly gave proof that summary executions had taken place. An inquiry by Radio Free Europe confirmed the use of a basement beneath a campground as a torture chamber. Many bodies were found mutilated and burnt, and girls as young as fourteen reported being raped by Russian soldiers. Ukraine has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate what happened in Bucha as part of its ongoing investigation of the invasion in order to determine whether a series of Russian war crimes or crimes against humanity were committed.Russian authorities have denied responsibility and instead claimed that Ukraine faked footage of the event or staged the killings itself as a false flag operation, and have described footage and photographs of dead bodies as fake news from the West and a provocation or staged performance by Ukrainian authorities. These assertions have been characterized as false by several groups and media organizations. Eye-witness accounts from residents blame the Russian Armed Forces for the killings.