While the Ukrainian army is retaking numerous localities and the Russian forces are withdrawing towards the east and south of the country, the discoveries of bodies in the areas hitherto occupied are numerous. In Boutcha, a mass grave of 300 bodies was found, according to the town’s mayor.
With our correspondent in Ukraine, Stephane Siohan
In Ukraine, there is relief in the kyiv region, after the departure of the Russian army from the entire administrative region of the capitala retreat which was confirmed this Saturday in many localities, and which already symbolizes for many Ukrainians a military victory in what they call “ the battle of kyiv “.
But this victory generates great anger, because wherever Russian troops withdraw, Ukrainian soldiers and police find a sight of desolation, destruction on an appalling scale, but above all dozens of corpses of civilians, some victims of the fighting, but many also victims of abuses and summary executions.
This is particularly the case in Boutcha, near Irpin, at the gates of kyiv, which was officially liberated on Saturday. According to the mayor of the city, a mass grave of 300 bodies was found, and according to several photos and videos consulted by RFI, leaving Boutcha, the Russian forces executed dozens of civilians and sometimes left the bodies in front of their house, when others were buried in pits. At least one body was found in a well.
The toll is still provisional, but what is anticipated is that hundreds, even thousands of civilians were killed in the areas occupied for a month by the Russian Federation.
Mass destruction of Ukrainian cities
But what could amount to war crimes, as international law prohibits the targeting of civilians, is seen in many places in the country. In the town of Trostyanets, 25 km from the Russian border, one of the first towns to be occupied by Russian forces and which has just been liberated by the Ukrainian army, the level of destruction is massive.
The Russian soldiers had massed tanks and their artillery near the station and they continuously bombarded the towns of the region from the center of Trostyanets. As a result, the 93rd Ukrainian Brigade has totally liquidated the Russian forces and the station district is no longer a field of ruins.
All the testimonies collected show that the Russian occupation is responsible for massive abuses. The Russian occupiers bombarded the city’s hospital, opened fire on residents, and according to the mayor, at least 50 civilians were killed by Russian soldiers. A figure which, according to him, could be much higher because many bodies were buried in the gardens and at the edge of the roads.
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