Following the liberation of Bucha from Russian forces back in 2022, 422 murdered civilians were discovered in the city, along with 1,190 bodies in the surrounding area. These figures are not final, and there are also individuals reported missing, with search efforts still ongoing in 2024. Deputy Head of Ukraine’s National Police Andrii Nebytov provided this information.
Exactly two years ago, on 31 March 2022, Ukrainian capital Kyiv’s suburb of Bucha was liberated from the Russian occupation. The Bucha massacre was the mass murder of at least 422 Ukrainian civilians and POWs by Russian forces during the month-long occupation of Bucha, Kyiv Oblast, in 2022.
“Bucha. The air smells of blood. This scent will be with me forever. Torture. Entire families, children – killed, tortured, burned. This cannot be forgotten. After the de-occupation of Bucha, 422 murdered civilians were found, with a total of 1190 bodies discovered in the Bucha district. And these numbers are not final… There are missing persons, and the search for them continues,” Nebytov wrote on Facebook.
Currently, 514 residents of Kyiv Oblast are missing, with 180 bodies of Ukrainian citizens remaining unidentified, according to an official.
Nebytov stated that many of the Russian war criminals have already been identified, the National Police have initiated over 116,000 criminal proceedings for war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine, with 23,000 of them taking place in Kyiv Oblast.
- On 5 March 2024, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General charged two more Russian servicemen with murder for executing a civilian in Bucha, accused of violating war laws.
- On 5 January 2023, the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office reported evidence indicating that Russian commanders were aware of or even encouraged acts of rape in Ukraine.
- On 6 April 2023, it was reported that a Russian lieutenant colonel and three other occupiers would be tried for torturing civilians in Bucha.
- On 24 November 2023, the Security Service of Ukraine announced suspicion against a Russian commander who was awarded the “Hero of Russia” title for shooting civilians in Bucha.
Read also:
- Bucha massacre: Ukraine presses murder charges against two Russian soldiers
- Ukrainian investigators uncover widespread human rights violations by Russian troops in Kyiv Oblast
- Danish PM visits Kyiv, honors victims of Bucha massacre
- Exhibition dedicated to Russian war crimes in Ukraine opens in New York on Bucha liberation anniversary
- So far, 91 Russian soldiers involved in crimes in Bucha identified
