Published: Less than 30 min ago
For eight months, Vladimir Putin has denied.
But now can New York Times show what actually happened on the “death road” in Butja.
The digital traces lead to a notorious paratrooper unit.
The images and videos that spread from Butja after the Russian withdrawal have led to both horror and anger.
But in the Kremlin, the reaction has been different.
Vladimir Putin has dismissed the whole thing as “a provocation” and claimed that the Russian army had nothing to do with it all.
However, after an eight-month investigation, the New York Times can show that the massacre on Yablunska Street, which residents now call “the road of death”, was carried out by Russian paratroopers from the 234th regiment.
Would secure passage to Kyiv
The soldiers, who are some of the best trained in the Russian armed forces, are said to have been revealed by radio communications, military equipment and the markings on their uniforms.
The New York Times’ evidence shows that the killings were a deliberate and ruthless attempt to secure a route to the capital, Kyiv. Soldiers interrogated and executed unarmed civilians who crossed their paths—whether children fleeing with their families or people trying to get home on their bicycles.
Promoted after the shocking images
The evidence has been collected through films, pictures and “digital fingerprints” where it was possible to see that the Russian soldiers seized the victims’ phones and called their own families. Often just hours after they were killed.
By analyzing the phone numbers, the New York Times has been able to map about 20 paratroopers in the 234th regiment. Commander Artilom Gorodilov could also be exposed after being caught on a surveillance camera on Yablunska Street communicating with his troops.
After forces withdrew from Kyiv, Gorodilov was promoted to colonel and the ceremony was held just days after the shocking images of Butja emerged.
The Russian Defense Ministry has declined to answer questions about the investigation.