One year later, Ukraine commemorates the Boutcha massacre
On March 31, 2022, a month after launching an invasion of the country on the orders of President Vladimir Putin, the Russian army withdrew from Butsa and all of northern Kiev.
Ukraine commemorates this Friday the anniversary of the Russian withdrawal from the martyr city, where a massacre was discovered two days later. The Russian occupiers left coldly executed corpses of civilians behind them, making the site the most visible symbol of the atrocities attributed to Moscow’s troops.
Journalists from Agence France-Presse (AFP) reported on April 2 that charred corpses of vehicles, destroyed houses and, above all, scattered over several hundred meters, the corpses of twenty people in civilian clothes, their hands tied. behind his back. The scenes shocked the world, with Kiev and the West condemning the summary execution of civilians and war crimes. The Kremlin denied any involvement and specified an arena.
When he visited the site two days after the discovery, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, visibly upset, condemned it. “War Crimes” will be “Recognized by the World as Genocide”. Since then, all foreign heads of state visiting Ukraine have taken a detour to Phutsa.
A year after Boutcha’s release, AFP journalists observed reconstruction work in this quiet suburban town on Thursday, which had a population of 37,000 before the war. Dozens of construction craftsmen are busy rebuilding homes and repaving roads amid diggers, backhoe loaders and dump trucks.
If the trauma persists, residents interviewed by AFP acknowledged it “pain goes away” Because we have to “Live on”. If he doesn’t want to forget the dead, Archbishop Andrey, who administers the local parish, insists that’s important. “Don’t live in the past, but in the future”.
Russian forces have been accused of numerous abuses by Ukrainian authorities after hundreds of bodies were found in Butsa and other towns, and hundreds of graves near Isium. “Torture Chambers” According to kyiv, in recaptured cities. Russia has consistently denied abuses by its forces.
On Thursday, Maria Zakharova, a spokeswoman for Russian diplomacy, again condemned the poaching case. “A rude and cynical provocation” From Kiev.
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