According to the war researcher, the worst is yet to come when what has happened in the long-occupied cities of Mariupol and eastern Ukraine is revealed.
Hanna Visala,
Teemu Juhola,
Veera Pennanen
Amnesty officials have interviewed about twenty people who have witnessed the atrocities of Russian troops near Kiev. Interviewees say soldiers killed and assaulted unarmed civilians.
According to Amnesty, the evidence it has gathered shows that civilians have been brutally killed on the streets and in their homes.
Associate Professor of Military Science at the Swedish National Defense College Ilmari Käihkön similar is likely to emerge from other areas.
– The worst is yet to come. There are still many areas in the east that have been under Russian occupation for a long time, Käihkö says to in a telephone interview.
The Ukrainian army regained control of a dozen suburbs
As Russian troops withdrew from Kiev, atrocities and suspected war crimes under Russian occupation began to be uncovered in the suburbs.
To date, data and eyewitness accounts have been obtained from Bocha, Borodianka, Bohdanivka, Vorzel and Zabuchchya, among others. In total, the Ukrainian army has regained control of a dozen suburbs.
Butša has risen to the center of the world’s attention because of the brutality that has been revealed.
Burnt and bound bodies have been found on the streets of the small town, and some of the dead have been shot in the head. There have also been bodies in mass graves.
Authorities say 320 people have been found so far, Reuters reports. Authorities estimate that about 50 of them have been executed.
Eyewitnesses have said Russian soldiers killed civilians in the city at random. The 24-year-old woman interviewed for the Amnesty report says she found the body of a woman living next door on the street.
The mother of the deceased woman had told her daughter that she had been killed after she had watched a Russian military vehicle over a fence.
According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Defense, Russian soldiers committed massacre in Bhutan.
– However, there is no certainty that Russia has systematically killed several civilians at once. As the resistance of the Ukrainians hardens, the more desperate the actions of the soldiers become, Ilmari Käihkö estimates.
The parents were shot on the street in Vorzel
Amnesty’s report also reveals atrocities elsewhere near Kiev. An 18-year-old woman interviewed by the organization says Russian tanks crashed into the village of Vorzel on March 3.
The woman’s family hid in the basement of their house. As the woman’s parents went out, the sounds of the shots followed. According to Amensty’s report, the woman found her parents shot in the ground.
According to the young woman interviewed, her parents were in civilian clothes and were not armed. A volunteer who later helped evacuate the young woman has confirmed the report to Amnesty.
An eyewitness interviewed by HRW says a Russian soldier threw a smoke grenade into the basement of a residential building and then shot a woman and a 14-year-old who left the basement.
The gunshots had been sheltered in the basement. The child died immediately and the woman died later. The execution took place on March 6, according to HRW eyewitnesses.
Civilians interviewed by HRW say Russian soldiers also stole food, firewood and clothing in Vorzel. In addition, soldiers have stolen fuel and various tools such as chainsaws and axes.
The Russians occupied Borodianka longer than Bocha
Ukrainian authorities fear an even worse massacre in Butchak will soon be revealed in the small town of Borodianka.
Borodianka is located just over 50 kilometers northwest of Kiev and has been occupied by Russian forces even longer than Bocha. For example, visited BBC (switch to another service) supplier Jeremy Bowen describes the devastation of the city as the worst he has seen near Kiev.
The same has been said by other journalists who have visited the city.
There are many completely destroyed buildings in Borodianka. Most of the residents have fled. The rest say the Russian airstrikes first bombed the city and then the occupiers arrived. After retreating, Russian soldiers mined the city.
The overall situation in Borodianka is not yet clear. The Ukrainian leadership and authorities have warned in advance what may be revealed when the city is explored.
According to Ilmari Käihkö, an outside party is now needed to investigate and document the events. Otherwise, perpetrators of rape or executions, for example, will not be brought to war. Käihkö states that these are serious war crimes because people have clearly been executed.
Soldiers shot the man in the head in the boiler room
The Amnesty report continues the harsh story of the village of Bohdanivka. The 46-year-old woman says Russian soldiers killed her husband in the head by shooting. Before the murder, soldiers forced the couple and their 10-year-old daughter into the boiler room of the house.
Soon the soldiers returned and asked the man for tobacco. The man said he had stopped smoking and was then shot in the arm by a soldier. One of the soldiers then called on the other to “stop him,” after which the man was shot in the head.
According to a witness interviewed by Amnesty, the man did not die immediately, but only in the morning.
A person next door has confirmed to Amnesty that soldiers have broken into the house and seen the body of a shot man lying in a corner of a boiler room.
The East will see the greatest battles of the war
According to Ilmari Käihkö, an associate professor of military science at the Swedish National Defense College, Russia has now changed its strategy.
– Troops are being concentrated in the east and are now being concentrated in the Donbass region. Strategy and rhetoric have changed. Russia is now talking about “defending the Donbass” instead of a military operation.
Käihkö believes that the biggest battles of the war will be seen in the East. Ukraine and Russia are now concentrating their forces there.
According to Kähko, the resistance of the Ukrainians is intensifying and after Bashan there is no possibility of concessions.
– Now we have seen what price has been paid. If the peace agreement goes to a referendum, as Zelenskyi has said, it will be really difficult to see any alternative to peace other than that Russia retreat completely.
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