The discovery on Saturday April 2 of numerous bodies of civilians in the town of Boutcha, near kyiv, after the withdrawal of Russian troops, caused shock waves in Ukraine and in Western countries.
The images showing dozens of corpses of civilians, some with their hands tied behind their backs, in the streets of Boutcha have shocked the international community. Since their broadcast on Saturday April 3, and the testimonies of survivors that accompany them, indignant reactions have been pouring in from all sides to denounce “war crimes”.
” The images that reach us from Boutcha are unbearable “, thus moved the French president Emmanuel Macron on Twitter. ” It’s like a punch in the stomach “, estimates for his part the head of the American diplomacy Anthony Blinken. NATO, for its part, speaks of acts ” horrible ” and ” absolutely unacceptable “. Saying ” deeply shocked “, the Secretary General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres judges for his part” essential that an independent investigation bring to account to officials.
An investigation also called for by British Prime Minister Boris Johnson. ” Russia’s despicable attacks on innocent civilians in Irpin and Boutcha are further evidence that Putin and his army are committing war crimes in Ukraine “, he said in a statement. The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, for his part announced that the EU would ” help Ukraine and NGOs gather the necessary evidence for prosecution in international courts “. For it, ” international organizations must have access to the region to document these atrocities and gather evidence “said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
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In the meantime, this wave of indignation that is sweeping through Western countries could well translate into new sanctions against Moscow. ” We will decide on new measures between allies in the coming days “, thus announced the head of the German government during a short statement to the chancellery. ” President Putin and his supporters will suffer the consequences. »
300 people buried in mass graves
Boutcha, a town of about 37,000 before the war, and the nearby town of Irpin have been the scene of some of the fiercest fighting since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine began on February 24. Boutcha was occupied by the Russian army from February 27, remaining inaccessible for more than a month. Shelling there ceased on Thursday and Ukrainian forces were only able to fully penetrate it a few days ago.
Agence France-Presse reports having seen in the streets the corpses of at least 22 people wearing civilian clothes. Although the cause of their death could not be determined immediately, at least two of them had large head wounds. ” The skin on the faces looked waxy, suggesting that the corpses had been there for at least several days “, she says.
In addition, the corpses of 57 people were found in a mass grave, local relief chief Serhii Kaplychny said on Sunday, showing an AFP team this site. A dozen corpses were visible, some only partially buried, behind a church in the center of the city. Several of them were in black body bags and those that could be seen were wearing civilian clothes. In this city alone, nearly 300 people were buried in mass graves, according to Ukrainian authorities.
These indicate that 410 civilian bodies have so far been found in the territories of the kyiv region recently retaken from Russian troops, and accuse Moscow of ” genocide “. The Russian army denies having killed civilians in Boutcha. She claims to have withdrawn on March 30 from this city and accuses Ukraine of having fabricated the images ” for western media “.
The war has killed at least thousands of people and forced nearly 4.2 million Ukrainians into exile, 90% of them women and children, since the start of the Russian invasion on February 24.
(With AFP)