As the fight between Russia and Ukraine rages on, Russia has been accused of war crimes throughout the war by Ukrainian officials. Many of the accusations have been based upon events of Russian missiles landing on and destroying civilian centers. These are claims that Russia has refuted on multiple occasions, saying that they have either been a false story or that the civilians were simply caught in the chaos. However, upon retaking the town of Bucha, Ukraine has found the most obvious– and the most disturbing–case of Russian war crimes so far into the war.
On March 31st, Russia confirmed its departure from Kyiv. This comes after Ukrainian defenses were able to hold back Russian offensives since the beginning of the war. However, as Ukraine pushed forward to reclaim territory, Ukrainian soldiers quickly found multiple war crimes had been committed in towns on the outskirts of Kyiv, the most egregious of which was found in the town of Bucha.
On April 3rd, Ukrainian soldiers had completely retaken Bucha from Russian forces. However, upon arrival, Ukrainian soldiers were met with a wave of dead bodies as they advanced through the town. Many of the bodies were bound and shot in the back of the head, implying execution. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy confirmed the death of around 300 civilians in the town. Zelenskyy later went on to claim that it was a genocide and that the international community should hold Russia accountable for its actions. “We want you to show the world what happened here. What the Russian military did. What the Russian Federation did in peaceful Ukraine,” he said when interviewed by reporters from CNN.
In reaction to the war crimes in Bucha, the European Union has announced new sanctions on Russia. The European Union stated that there are talks of putting sanctions on luxury goods, steel, and jet fuel, according to a report by CNBC. However, Zelenskyy has been adamant that the European Union should enforce a no-fly zone over Ukraine, a demand that the European Union and The United States have refused multiple times. With the war killing an untold amount of civilians and soldiers, war crimes like those found in Bucha look to just be the tip of the iceberg.