:Bucha massacre

{{Main|Battle of Bucha|War crimes in the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine|Kyiv offensive (2022)}}

As part of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, the Russian military entered Ukraine from Belarus. One of the initial moves was a push towards the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, as part of which a huge column of military vehicles moved south towards the city. On 27 February 2022, Russian advance forces moved into the city of Bucha, making it one of the first outlying areas of Kyiv taken by Russian forces.{{Cite web |date=27 February 2022 |title=У Бучі під Києвом тривають бої, колона ворога проривається до столиці (відео) |trans-title=Fighting continues in Bucha near Kyiv, enemy column breaks through to the capital (video) |url=https://konkurent.ua/publication/89824/u-buchi-pid-kievom-trivaut-boi-kolona-voroga-prorivaetsya-do-stolitsi-video/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220306151710/https://konkurent.ua/publication/89824/u-buchi-pid-kievom-trivaut-boi-kolona-voroga-prorivaetsya-do-stolitsi-video/ |archive-date=6 March 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=Konkurent |language=uk}}{{Cite web |last=AFP |date=4 April 2022 |title=What We Know About What Happened in Ukraine's Bucha |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/04/what-we-know-about-what-happened-in-ukraines-bucha-a77197 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404101623/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/04/what-we-know-about-what-happened-in-ukraines-bucha-a77197 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=The Moscow Times}} According to Ukrainian military intelligence, Russian forces occupying Bucha included the 64th Motor Rifle Brigade, headed by Lieutenant Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov, a part of the 35th Combined Arms Army.{{Cite news |last=Mirovalev |first=Mansur |date=4 April 2022 |title=Bucha killings: 'The world cannot be tricked anymore' |work=Al Jazeera English |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/4/will-the-bucha-massacre-wake-up-the-world |url-status=live |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404232736/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/4/will-the-bucha-massacre-wake-up-the-world |archive-date=4 April 2022}}{{Cite web |last=Cole |first=Brendan |date=6 April 2022 |title=Who Is Azatbek Omurbekov? Commander Believed To Be Behind Bucha Killings |url=https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-war-azatbek-omurbekov-putin-bucha-1695385 |access-date=7 April 2022 |publisher=Newsweek |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406093837/https://www.newsweek.com/russia-ukraine-war-azatbek-omurbekov-putin-bucha-1695385 |url-status=live }}

In late March, prior to the Russian retreat from Kyiv, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova stated that Ukrainian prosecutors had collected evidence of 2,500 suspected cases of war crimes committed by Russia during the invasion and had identified "several hundred suspects".{{Cite news |last1=Farmer |first1=Ben |last2=Kozyreva |first2=Tanya |last3=Townsley |first3=Simon |date=30 March 2022 |title=I'm building 2,500 war crimes cases against Vladimir Putin's invasion, says Ukraine's chief prosecutor |work=The Daily Telegraph |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/putin-21st-century-war-criminal-ukraines-chief-prosecutor-investigate |url-status=live |access-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220331190405/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/global-health/terror-and-security/putin-21st-century-war-criminal-ukraines-chief-prosecutor-investigate |archive-date=31 March 2022}} Matilda Bogner, the head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, also raised concerns about the precise documentation of civilian casualties, specifically in regions and cities under heavy fire, highlighting the lack of electricity and reliable communications.{{Cite web |last=Raycraft |first=Richard |date=3 April 2022 |title='Very high levels' of civilian casualties in Ukraine, UN human rights monitor says |url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/high-civilian-casualties-ukraine-un-1.6406845 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404012857/https://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/high-civilian-casualties-ukraine-un-1.6406845 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=CBC}}

Under attack by the Ukrainian military, Russian troops in the Bucha area retreated north, as part of the general Russian retreat from the Kyiv area. Ukrainian forces entered Bucha on 1 April 2022.{{cite web |last=Rudenko |first=Olga |date=2 April 2022 |title=Hundreds of murdered civilians discovered as Russians withdraw from towns near Kyiv (graphic images) |url=https://kyivindependent.com/national/hundreds-of-murdered-civilians-discovered-as-russians-withdraw-from-towns-near-kyiv-graphic-images/ |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=The Kyiv Independent |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403022637/https://kyivindependent.com/national/hundreds-of-murdered-civilians-discovered-as-russians-withdraw-from-towns-near-kyiv-graphic-images/ |url-status=live}}

According to The Kyiv Independent, on 4 March, Russian forces killed three unarmed Ukrainian civilians who were driving back from delivering food to a dog shelter.{{cite web |last=Myroniuk |first=Anna |date=8 March 2022 |title=Russian soldiers murder volunteers helping starving animals near Kyiv |url=https://kyivindependent.com/national/russian-soldiers-murder-volunteers-helping-starving-animals-near-kyiv/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220309020323/https://kyivindependent.com/national/russian-soldiers-murder-volunteers-helping-starving-animals-near-kyiv/ |archive-date=9 March 2022 |access-date=8 March 2022 |website=The Kyiv Independent}} At around 7:15{{nbsp}}a.m. on 5 March, a pair of cars carrying two families trying to escape were spotted by Russian soldiers as the vehicles turned onto Chkalova Street. Russian forces opened fire on the convoy, killing a man in the second vehicle. The front car was hit by a burst of machine-gun fire, instantly killing two children and their mother.{{cite web |date=2 April 2022 |title='It is a war crime': two young boys among neighbours shot dead during attempted evacuation |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/02/i-realised-my-husband-was-dead-ukrainians-tell-of-russian-army-atrocities |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=The Guardian |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403022722/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/02/i-realised-my-husband-was-dead-ukrainians-tell-of-russian-army-atrocities |url-status=live}}

In an interview with the Associated Press on 7 March, the town's mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk, said the situation in Bucha was a "nightmare", telling reporters that "we can't even gather up the bodies because the shelling from heavy weapons doesn't stop day or night. Dogs are pulling apart the bodies on the city streets."{{cite web |date=7 March 2022 |title=Live updates: Nissan plans to halt production in Russia |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-new-zealand-global-trade-23327d0cb464c712ee042dfac159f1a2 |access-date=8 April 2022 |website=AP NEWS |archive-date=7 March 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220307060602/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-new-zealand-global-trade-23327d0cb464c712ee042dfac159f1a2 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |title=Russian media campaign falsely claims Bucha deaths are fakes |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/russian-media-campaign-dismisses-bucha-deaths-fakes-83902798 |access-date=8 April 2022 |website=ABC News |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408175814/https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/wireStory/russian-media-campaign-dismisses-bucha-deaths-fakes-83902798 |url-status=live }} In a 28 March interview with Adnkronos, Fedoruk accused Russian forces of killings and rapes in Bucha.{{cite web |title=Russian media campaign dismisses Bucha deaths as fakes |url=https://japantoday.com/category/world/russian-media-campaign-dismisses-bucha-deaths-as-fakes |access-date=8 April 2022 |website=Japan Today |date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406114727/https://japantoday.com/category/world/russian-media-campaign-dismisses-bucha-deaths-as-fakes|archive-date=6 April 2022}} He evoked "a plan of terror against the civilian population" and claimed that "here in Bucha we see all the horrors we heard about as crimes committed by the Nazis during Second World War".{{cite web |date=28 March 2022 |title=Guerra Ucraina, sindaco Bucha: "Zona occupata da Russia, viviamo orrori da II guerra mondiale" |trans-title=Ukrainian War, Mayor Bucha: "Area occupied by Russia, we are experiencing World War II horrors" |url=https://www.adnkronos.com/guerra-ucraina-sindaco-di-bucha-zona-occupata-dai-russi-viviamo-orrori-da-ii-guerra-mondiale_1OWz5bnrdb780NZAwTPiyj |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220329071931/https://www.adnkronos.com/guerra-ucraina-sindaco-di-bucha-zona-occupata-dai-russi-viviamo-orrori-da-ii-guerra-mondiale_1OWz5bnrdb780NZAwTPiyj |archive-date=29 March 2022 |access-date=25 April 2022 |publisher=Adnkronos |language=it}}

File:DestroyedcarinBucha.png

File:Місто Буча після звільнення від російських окупантів.jpg

File:20220402 - Ukrainian police enters Bucha.webm]]

On 1 April 2022, following the Russian withdrawal, video footage was posted to social media showing mass civilian casualties.{{cite web |author=Eliot Higgins |date=4 April 2022 |title=Russia's Bucha 'Facts' Versus the Evidence |url=https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/04/04/russias-bucha-facts-versus-the-evidence/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212140/https://www.bellingcat.com/news/2022/04/04/russias-bucha-facts-versus-the-evidence/ |archive-date=4 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=Bellingcat}}{{cite web |last1=Ough |first1=Tom |title=Debunking Russia's Bucha massacre conspiracy theories |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/04/04/ukraine-bucha-massacre-russia-conspiracy-theories-misinformation/ |website=The Daily Telegraph |access-date=4 April 2022 |date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407202947/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/04/04/ukraine-bucha-massacre-russia-conspiracy-theories-misinformation/ |url-status=live}} According to Mayor Fedoruk, "hundreds of Russian soldiers" were also among the bodies found in the region.{{cite news |last=Stern |first=David |date=3 April 2022 |title=Bodies and Rubble in the streets of Bucha following Russian retreat |newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/02/bucha-bodies-russia-retreat-kyiv/ |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402235535/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/02/bucha-bodies-russia-retreat-kyiv/ |url-status=live}} Subsequently, further evidence emerged that appeared to show war crimes committed by Russian forces while they occupied the region.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/bucha-violence-invasion-russia-ukraine |title='It was like a movie': Recaptured Bucha recounts violence of Russian invasion |work=The Guardian |date=3 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404023932/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/bucha-violence-invasion-russia-ukraine |url-status=live}} Soldiers of the Ukrainian Territorial Defense Forces said they had found eighteen mutilated bodies of men, women and children in a summer camp's basement in Zabuchchya, near Bucha. One of the soldiers said that some of the bodies had suffered cut-off ears or extracted teeth and that the bodies had been removed a day before the interview.{{cite news |last=Callaghan |first=Louise |title=Bodies of mutilated children among horrors the Russians left behind |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bodies-of-mutilated-children-among-horrors-the-russians-left-behind-5ddnkkwp2 |date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403034451/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/bodies-of-mutilated-children-among-horrors-the-russians-left-behind-5ddnkkwp2 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |url-status=live |work=The Times |url-access=subscription |language=en |access-date=3 April 2022}} Footage released by the Ukrainian Army appeared to show a torture chamber in the basement.{{cite web |date=5 April 2022 |title=Ukraine says 'torture room' found after Russian troops withdrawal from Bucha |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-torture-room-bucha-b2050946.html |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=The Independent |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407202948/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-torture-room-bucha-b2050946.html |url-status=live}} A report by Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, an American state-funded media organization, described the basement as an "execution cellar" used by Russian forces.{{cite news|title=Inside An 'Execution Cellar' In Ukraine |work=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-execution-cellar/31787326.html |language=en |access-date=5 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407203455/https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-execution-cellar/31787326.html |url-status=live}}

Journalists entering the city discovered the bodies of more than a dozen people in civilian clothes. Fedoruk said that these individuals had all been shot in the back of the head.{{cite news |date=2 April 2022 |title=War in Ukraine: Street in Bucha found strewn with dead bodies |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60967463 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403134330/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60967463 |url-status=live}} Corpses of other killed civilians were left on the road. Ukrainian officials said the women had been raped and their bodies burnt.{{cite news |last1=Swinford |first1=Steven |last2=Waterfield |first2=Bruno |last3=Ames |first3=Jonathan |date=3 April 2022 |title=Zelensky accuses Russia of genocide in Irpin and Bucha |language= |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russian-butchery-in-the-new-srebrenica-fuels-war-crimes-plea-vt7r5w8fl |url-access=subscription |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220403131238/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/russian-butchery-in-the-new-srebrenica-fuels-war-crimes-plea-vt7r5w8fl |url-status=live}} A report published by The Kyiv Independent included a photo and information about one man and two or three naked women under a blanket whose bodies Russian soldiers had tried to burn on the side of a road before fleeing. The photos show that Russian forces had singled out and killed Ukrainian civilian men in an organised fashion, with many bodies found with their hands tied behind their backs. Many of the victims appeared to have been going about their daily routines, carrying shopping bags.{{cite news |last1=Gardner |first1=Simon |last2=Bensemra |first2=Zohra |last3=Boumzar |first3=Abdelaziz |date=2 April 2022 |title=Russian retreat leaves trail of dead civilians in Bucha, a town near Kyiv |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-retreat-leaves-trail-slain-civilians-town-near-kyiv-2022-04-02/ |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402232057/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/russian-retreat-leaves-trail-slain-civilians-town-near-kyiv-2022-04-02/ |url-status=live}} Other footage showed a dead man next to a bicycle.{{cite web |date=3 April 2022 |title=Russia Accused Of Atrocities In Kyiv Suburb Of Bucha |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/bucha-ukraine-russia-atrocities/31783826.html |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403164540/http://www.rferl.org/a/bucha-ukraine-russia-atrocities/31783826.html |url-status=live}}

CNN,{{cite news |title=En la ciudad ucraniana de Bucha, los cuerpos sin vida yacen en las calles |trans-title=In the Ukrainian city of Bucha, lifeless bodies lie in the streets |language=es-ES |work=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/videos/spanish/2022/04/02/cadaveres-calles-bucha-ucrania-salida-rusos-fernando-del-rincon-conclusiones-cnne.cnn |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403081146/https://edition.cnn.com/videos/spanish/2022/04/02/cadaveres-calles-bucha-ucrania-salida-rusos-fernando-del-rincon-conclusiones-cnne.cnn |url-status=live}} the BBC,{{cite news |title=Ukraine war: Gruesome evidence points to war crimes on road outside Kyiv |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60949791 |work=BBC News |date=1 April 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403234505/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60949791 |url-status=live}} and AFP{{cite news |title=War in Ukraine: Street in Bucha found strewn with dead bodies |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60967463 |work=BBC News |date=2 April 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404001532/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-60967463 |url-status=live}} released video documentation of numerous dead civilians in the streets and yards in Bucha, some of them with tied arms or legs. On 2 April, an AFP reporter stated he had seen at least 20 bodies of male civilians lying in the streets of Bucha, with two of the bodies having tied hands.{{cite news |title=At least 20 bodies seen in one street in town near Kyiv |agency=AFP |url=https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/at-least-20-bodies-seen-in-one-street-in-town-near-kyiv-afp.945756 |work=Times of Malta |date=2 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403065949/https://timesofmalta.com/articles/view/at-least-20-bodies-seen-in-one-street-in-town-near-kyiv-afp.945756 |url-status=live}} BBC News said that some had been shot in the temple and some bodies had been run over by a tank.{{cite news |date=4 April 2022 |title=Ukraine war: Ukraine investigates alleged execution of civilians by Russians |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60981228 |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404142316/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60981228 |url-status=live}} On 5 April Associated Press journalists saw charred bodies on a residential street near a playground in Bucha, including one with a bullet hole in the skull, and a burned body of a child.{{cite web|url=https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/associated-press-journalists-bucha-civilian-killings-bucha-1.6409330 |title=Associated Press journalists witness more evidence of civilian killings, torture in Bucha |work=CBC |agency=Associated Press |date=5 April 2022 |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407202951/https://www.cbc.ca/news/world/associated-press-journalists-bucha-civilian-killings-bucha-1.6409330 |url-status=live}} On the same date, The Washington Post reported that Ukrainian investigators found evidence of torture, beheading, mutilation, and incinerations of corpses. The body of at least one of those killed was mined and turned into a trap with tripwires. Villagers who were asked to help identify a beheaded body reported that drunken Russian soldiers told them of carrying out sadistic acts against Ukrainians.{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/06/bucha-barbarism-atrocities-russian-soldiers/ |title=In Bucha, the scope of Russian barbarity is coming into focus |first1=Max|last1=Bearak|first2=Louisa|last2=Loveluck|access-date=7 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407190243/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/04/06/bucha-barbarism-atrocities-russian-soldiers/ |url-status=live |newspaper=The Washington Post}}

By 9 April, Ukrainian forensic investigators had begun recovering bodies from mass graves, such as at the church of Andrew the Apostle.{{cite web |date=9 April 2022 |title=With bloodied gloves, forensic teams uncover gruesome secrets of Bucha in Ukraine |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/09/with-bloodied-gloves-forensic-teams-uncover-gruesome-secrets-of-bucha-in-ukraine |access-date=10 April 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409174408/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/09/with-bloodied-gloves-forensic-teams-uncover-gruesome-secrets-of-bucha-in-ukraine |url-status=live }} On 21 April, Human Rights Watch published an extensive report that summarized their own investigation in Bucha, implicating Russian troops in summary executions, other unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, and torture. It also urged Ukrainian authorities to preserve evidence and cooperate with the International Criminal Court to bolster future war crime prosecutions.{{cite journal |title=Ukraine: Russian Forces' Trail of Death in Bucha |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/21/ukraine-russian-forces-trail-death-bucha |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220421062141/https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/21/ukraine-russian-forces-trail-death-bucha |archive-date=21 April 2022 |access-date=25 April 2022 |website=Human Rights Watch |date=25 April 2022}} By 24 April, The Guardian reported that dozens of bodies had flechettes in them. Unnamed eyewitnesses in Bucha had previously reported the firing of flechette rounds by Russian artillery, using shells that carry up to 8,000 flechettes each, according to The Guardian. The use of such indiscriminate weapons in areas with civilians is a violation of humanitarian law.{{cite web |last1=Tondo |first1=Lorenzo |date=24 April 2022 |title=Dozens of Bucha civilians were killed by metal darts from Russian artillery |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/24/dozens-bucha-civilians-killed-flechettes-metal-darts-russian-artillery |access-date=29 April 2022 |website=The Guardian |location=Kiyv |language=English |archive-date=24 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220424155501/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/24/dozens-bucha-civilians-killed-flechettes-metal-darts-russian-artillery |url-status=live }}

Residents and the mayor of the city said that the victims had been killed by Russian troops. They indicated many of the survivors had been hiding from the Russians in basements, too scared to come out. Some of them had no light or electricity for weeks, using candles for heating water and cooking. They came out of hiding only when it was clear the Russians had left, welcoming the arrival of Ukrainian troops.

The BBC and The Guardian cited eyewitness accounts, from inhabitants of Bucha and the nearby villages of Obukhovychi and Ivankiv, of Russian troops using civilians as human shields as they came under attack by Ukrainian soldiers.{{cite news |last=Bowen |first=Jeremy |date=7 April 2022 |title=Ukraine War: 'Russian soldiers held us as human shields' |language=en |newspaper=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61020565 |access-date=9 April 2022 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408230709/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-61020565 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Boffey |first1=Daniel |date=2 April 2022 |title=Ukrainian children used as 'human shields' near Kyiv, say witness reports |language=en |newspaper=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/02/ukrainian-children-used-as-human-shields-near-kyiv-say-witness-reports |url-status=live |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402202810/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/02/ukrainian-children-used-as-human-shields-near-kyiv-say-witness-reports |archive-date=2 April 2022}}

The Economist reported an account of a survivor of a mass execution. After getting trapped at a checkpoint when it came under fire from Russian artillery, the man was captured by Russian soldiers, along with the construction workers he was sheltering with at the checkpoint. The soldiers moved them to a nearby building being used as a Russian base, strip-searched them, beat and tortured them, then took them to the side of the building to shoot and kill them. The man was shot in the side, but survived by playing dead and later fleeing to a nearby home.{{cite news |date=5 April 2022 |title=One killing among many in a Kyiv suburb |newspaper=The Economist |url=https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/04/05/one-killing-among-many-in-a-kyiv-suburb |access-date=5 April 2022 |issn=0013-0613 |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405132927/https://www.economist.com/europe/2022/04/05/one-killing-among-many-in-a-kyiv-suburb |url-status=live}}

Residents, talking to Human Rights Watch (HRW) following the retreat of the Russian forces, described the treatment of people in the city during the occupation: Russian soldiers went door-to-door, questioning people, destroying their possessions, and looting their clothes to wear themselves.{{cite journal |title=Devastation and Loss in Bucha, Uhan: Life for Civilians in a Town Encircled by Russian Forces |url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/30/devastation-and-loss-bucha-ukraine |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220401015932/https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/03/30/devastation-and-loss-bucha-ukraine |archive-date=1 April 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=Human Rights Watch |date=30 March 2022}} HRW heard reports that civilians were fired upon when leaving their homes for food and water, and would be ordered back into their homes by Russian troops, despite a lack of basic necessities such as water and heat due to the destruction of local infrastructure. There were also reports that Russian armed vehicles would arbitrarily fire into buildings in the city and that Russian troops refused medical aid to injured civilians. A mass grave was dug for local victims, and the troops carried out extrajudicial executions. A HRW spokesperson said that it had documented at least one "unmistakable case" of summary execution by Russian soldiers on 4 March.{{cite news |date=3 April 2022 |title=Human Rights Watch documents alleged war crimes by Russian forces in occupied regions of Ukraine |agency=CNN |url=https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-3-22/h_d8455329a6510ce26701a51d2b0d6eef |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403121046/https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-3-22/h_d8455329a6510ce26701a51d2b0d6eef |url-status=live}}

According to a report by The New York Times, Russian soldiers killed residents of the town "recklessly and sometimes sadistically" in a "campaign of terror". Russian snipers killed unsuspecting civilians. A Ukrainian woman was kidnapped by Russians, held in a cellar, repeatedly raped, and then executed. Another group of women and girls was locked in a basement for almost a month; nine of them subsequently became pregnant. Individuals executed with hands tied behind their back were found throughout the town, indicating that several Russian military units had carried out the murders.{{cite news|url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/11/world/europe/bucha-terror.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220411144041/https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/04/11/world/europe/bucha-terror.html |archive-date=11 April 2022 |title=Bucha's Month of Terror |newspaper=The New York Times |date=11 April 2022 |last1=Berehulak |first1=Daniel}}

According to a Kyiv resident, who was present at the Bucha headquarters of the territorial defence force, Russian soldiers checked documents and killed those who had participated in the war in the Donbas region of Ukraine. He said that Russian troops killed people with tattoos associated with right-wing groups, but also those with tattoos of Ukrainian symbols. According to his account, in the last week of the occupation, Kadyrovite Chechen fighters were shooting at every civilian they encountered.{{cite news |url=https://vot-tak.tv/novosti/03-04-2022-rasstrely-zhitelej-buchi/ |title="Стреляли либо в затылок, либо в сердце". Рассказ свидетеля казней жителей Бучи в оккупации |trans-title="They were either shot in the back of the head or in the heart". Eyewitness account of the execution of the inhabitants of Bucha during the occupation |work=Vot-Tak.tv |language=Russian |date=3 April 2022 |first=Alik |last=Spiridonov |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404094310/https://vot-tak.tv/novosti/03-04-2022-rasstrely-zhitelej-buchi/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/04/04/bucha-survivor-one-man-tortured-cut-cheek-shot-heart/ |newspaper=The Daily Telegraph |title=Bucha survivor: One man was tortured … They cut out his cheek and shot him in the heart |date=4 April 2022 |access-date=5 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407202949/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2022/04/04/bucha-survivor-one-man-tortured-cut-cheek-shot-heart/ |url-status=live}} Another resident reported that Russian soldiers checked the cell phones of civilians, for evidence of anti-Russian activity, before taking the civilians away or shooting them.{{cite news |date=3 April 2022 |title=Ukraine authorities discover 410 bodies in Bucha, accusing Russia of war crimes and a massacre |language=en-AU |work=ABC News |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-04/ukraine-accuses-russia-of-massacre-city-strewn-with-bodies/100963106 |url-status=live |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403230416/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-04-04/ukraine-accuses-russia-of-massacre-city-strewn-with-bodies/100963106 |archive-date=3 April 2022}}

A witness told Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty that the Russians "were killing people systematically. I personally heard how one sniper was boasting that he 'offed' two people he saw in apartment windows.... There was no need. There was no military justification to kill. It was just torturing civilians. On other blocks, people were really tortured. They were found with their hands tied behind their backs and shot in the back of the head." Locals asserted the killings were deliberate and many reported that in several instances snipers would gun down civilians for no clear reason.{{cite news |title=Bucha Residents Describe 'Systematic' Killings By Russian Troops |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bucha-killings-russia-/31785129.html |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404124245/http://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-bucha-killings-russia-/31785129.html |url-status=live |last1=Stek |first1=Levko }}

Lyudmyla Denisova, Ukraine's human rights commissioner at the time, stated that sexual violence against civilians was weaponized by the Russian soldiers as part of what she referred to as "genocide of Ukrainian people". According to Denisova, as of 6 April 2022, a special telephone helpline had received at least 25 reports of rape of women and girls from Bucha, aged between 14 and 24.{{cite news |title=25 women and girls say they were raped by Russian troops in Bucha - Ukrainian official |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60991746?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=624d79905fbc655faa0202a5%2625%20women%20and%20girls%20say%20they%20were%20raped%20by%20Russian%20troops%20in%20Bucha%20-%20Ukrainian%20official%262022-04-06T11%3A47%3A36.533Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn:asset:84e24be4-544b-4b78-9c03-256002211be4&pinned_post_asset_id=624d79905fbc655faa0202a5&pinned_post_type=share |access-date=6 April 2022 |agency=BBC News |date=6 April 2022 |language=en-gb |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407202950/https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60991746?ns_mchannel=social&ns_source=twitter&ns_campaign=bbc_live&ns_linkname=624d79905fbc655faa0202a5%2625+women+and+girls+say+they+were+raped+by+Russian+troops+in+Bucha+-+Ukrainian+official%262022-04-06T11%3A47%3A36.533Z&ns_fee=0&pinned_post_locator=urn%3Aasset%3A84e24be4-544b-4b78-9c03-256002211be4&pinned_post_asset_id=624d79905fbc655faa0202a5&pinned_post_type=share |url-status=live}}

Video footage, from a drone verified by The New York Times, showed two Russian armoured vehicles firing at a civilian walking with a bicycle. A separate video, filmed after the Russian withdrawal, showed a dead person wearing civilian clothing matching the drone footage, lying next to a bicycle.{{cite news |date=6 April 2022 |title=Russian soldiers open fire on cyclist in Bucha in video verified by The New York Times |agency=Reuters |url=https://www.businessinsider.com/nyt-russian-soldiers-open-fire-cyclist-in-bucha-in-video-2022-4 |access-date=4 April 2022 |url-status=live |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406023124/https://www.businessinsider.com/nyt-russian-soldiers-open-fire-cyclist-in-bucha-in-video-2022-4 }}

On 19 May, The New York Times released videos showing Russian soldiers leading away a group of civilians, then forcing them to the ground. The dead bodies of the men were later recorded by a drone as being in the same spot recorded on the video, and the bodies later found after Bucha's liberation. The videos clearly show the murdered men in Russian custody minutes before their execution and confirm eyewitness accounts. The troops responsible for the murders were Russian paratroopers.{{cite news |last1=Al-Hlou |first1=Yousur |last2=Froliak |first2=Masha |last3=Hill |first3=Evan |last4=Browne |first4=Malachy |last5=Botti |first5=David |title=New Evidence Shows How Russian Soldiers Executed Men in Bucha |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/world/europe/russia-bucha-ukraine-executions.html |access-date=23 May 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=19 May 2022 |archive-date=28 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220528185253/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/05/19/world/europe/russia-bucha-ukraine-executions.html |url-status=live }}

File:Killed woman in Bucha.jpg

According to Mayor Fedoruk, the greatest number of killings by Russian forces were in the Yablonska, Sklozavodska, and Lisova Bucha parts of Bucha, and especially on Yablunska and Vokzalna streets.{{cite news |last1= Kossov |first1= Igor |title= Uncovering the scope of the Bucha massacre |date= 2022-04-22 |newspaper= Kyiv Independent |url= https://kyivindependent.com/national/uncovering-the-scope-of-the-bucha-massacre |access-date= 2022-04-22 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220423003539/https://kyivindependent.com/national/uncovering-the-scope-of-the-bucha-massacre/ |archive-date= 2022-04-23 |url-status=live}} Fedoruk said that at least 280 individuals from the city had to be buried in mass graves.{{cite web |title=Almost 300 people buried in "mass grave" in Bucha, dozens of bodies found in the streets |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/2/7336702/ |access-date=3 April 2022 |website=Ukrayinska Pravda |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403033307/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/2/7336702/ |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Almost 300 buried in mass grave in Bucha, near Kyiv: Mayor |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/2/almost-300-buried-in-mass-grave-in-bucha-near-kyiv-mayor |access-date=3 April 2022 |work=Al Jazeera |archive-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402233824/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/2/almost-300-buried-in-mass-grave-in-bucha-near-kyiv-mayor |url-status=live}} Local residents had to bury another 57 bodies in another mass grave. Serhiy Kaplishny, a local coroner who fled but returned, said that as of 3 April his team had collected more than 100 bodies during and after the fighting (including deaths of soldiers and deaths from natural causes). Kaplishny said that before leaving, he had hired a backhoe operator to dig a mass grave near the church, as the morgue was unable to refrigerate bodies due to the lack of electricity, and "It was a horror". He also said that since returning, he had picked up 13 bodies of civilians who had had their arms tied and been shot at close range.{{cite news |last1=Gall |first1=Carlotta |last2=Kramer |first2=Andrew E. |title=In a Kyiv Suburb,'They Shot Everyone They Saw' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-civilian-deaths.html |work=The New York Times |date=3 April 2022 |access-date=5 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404135757/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-civilian-deaths.html |url-status=live }} As of 4 April, the exact number of people killed was still unknown. Fedoruk said at least 300 people had been found dead in the immediate aftermath of the massacre.{{cite web |title=Russia claims Bucha civilian massacre faked as a "provocation" as outrage builds over Ukraine war atrocities |url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bucha-massacre-ukraine-russia-putin-provocation-war-crimes-atrocities/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=CBS News |date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212140/https://www.cbsnews.com/news/bucha-massacre-ukraine-russia-putin-provocation-war-crimes-atrocities/ |url-status=live }} In an interview with Reuters, deputy mayor Taras Shapravskyi said 50 of the victims had been extrajudicially executed.{{Cite news |last=Gardner |first=Simon |date=4 April 2022 |title=In Ukrainian street, a corpse with hands bound and a bullet wound to the head |language=en |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-street-corpse-with-hands-bound-bullet-wound-head-2022-04-03/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404170521/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/ukrainian-street-corpse-with-hands-bound-bullet-wound-head-2022-04-03/ |url-status=live }} The figure of 300 was later revised to 403 on 12 April.{{cite news |last1=Hunder |first1=Max |last2=Winning |first2=Alexander |last3=Jones |first3=Gareth |title=Mayor of Ukraine's Bucha says 403 bodies found so far |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/mayor-ukraines-bucha-says-403-bodies-found-so-far-2022-04-12/ |access-date=13 April 2022 |work=Reuters |date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412135945/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/mayor-ukraines-bucha-says-403-bodies-found-so-far-2022-04-12/ |archive-date=12 April 2022|url-status=live |language=en}}

Defence Minister Oleksii Reznikov said, "In Bucha alone the death toll is already higher than in Vukovar", referring to the killing of hundreds of Croat civilians and prisoners of war during the Croatian War of Independence.{{Cite web |title=Death toll in Bucha already higher than Croatia's Vukovar massacre, says Ukraine's defense minister |url=https://english.nv.ua/nation/death-toll-in-bucha-already-higher-than-croatia-s-vukovar-massacre-says-ukraine-s-defense-minister-50230953.html |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=english.nv.ua |language=en |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407203003/https://english.nv.ua/nation/death-toll-in-bucha-already-higher-than-croatia-s-vukovar-massacre-says-ukraine-s-defense-minister-50230953.html |url-status=live }} On 13 April 2022, BBC News posted an article saying "at least 500 dead have been found since the Russians left" Bucha.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61085810 |title=Collecting the dead in Bucha |work=BBC News |date=13 April 2022 |access-date=13 April 2022 |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413141719/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61085810 |url-status=live }} On 29 June the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documented the unlawful killings, including summary executions, of at least 50 civilians in Bucha. In December 2022, that number was increased to at least 73, with an additional 105 deaths being investigated. In mid-summer 2022, a memorial wall of residents died during Russian occupation was opened in Bucha with 501 names on it.{{Cite web |title=В Буче открыли инсталляцию в память о жителях, убитых во время российской оккупации. Фотография |url=https://meduza.io/short/2023/07/02/v-buche-otkryli-installyatsiyu-v-pamyat-o-zhitelyah-ubityh-vo-vremya-rossiyskoy-okkupatsii-fotografiya |access-date=2024-11-29 |website=Meduza |language=ru}} On 8 August 2022, officials released a count of civilian deaths in the town of Bucha alone: 458 bodies—419 with signs of shooting, torture, or violent trauma—and 39 of apparently natural causes but being scrutinized for their relationship to the Russian occupation. 366 were male, 86 female, and five of indiscernible gender due to their condition. Nine were children. 50 bodies remained unidentified, along with body parts and ash.{{Cite news |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |date=2022-09-03 |title='We Do Not Want Unknown Graves': The Struggle to Identify Bucha's Victims |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/world/europe/ukraine-bucha-massacre-victims.html |access-date=2022-09-17 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=18 September 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220918184416/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/09/03/world/europe/ukraine-bucha-massacre-victims.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last=Sly |first=Liz |date=2022-08-08 |title=Accounting of bodies in Bucha nears completion |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/08/ukraine-bucha-bodies/ |access-date=2022-08-09 |newspaper=Washington Post |language=en |archive-date=9 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220809120452/https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/08/ukraine-bucha-bodies/ |url-status=live }}

On 16 May 2022, BBC News reported that more than 1,000 civilians were killed in the Bucha region during the month under Russian occupation; most did not die from shrapnel or shelling. More than 650 were shot dead by Russian soldiers.{{cite news |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61442387 |title=The children's camp that became an execution ground |work=BBC News |date=16 May 2022 |access-date=16 May 2022 |archive-date=16 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220516000133/https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61442387 |url-status=live }} As of 13 June 2022, Ukrainian authorities said that 1,316 bodies had been uncovered in Kyiv Oblast, including Bucha, since the Russian withdrawal.{{Cite web |date=2022-06-13 |title=Bucolic Ukraine forest is site of mass grave exhumation |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-business-criminal-investigations-bed8a5fac1dab4cfcdf45aed815ff510 |access-date=2022-06-14 |website=AP News |language=en |archive-date=7 October 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221007113942/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-business-criminal-investigations-bed8a5fac1dab4cfcdf45aed815ff510 |url-status=live }} The same day, seven more victims were also recovered from a forest grave. Two of them had their hands tied behind the back and had gunshot wounds to the knees, which local police said indicated torture. The human rights agency also verified that between 24 February and 31 March at least 482 residential buildings had been damaged or destroyed in the towns of Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel.{{Cite report |url=https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/situation-human-rights-ukraine-context-armed-attack-russian-federation |title=The situation of human rights in Ukraine in the context of the armed attack by the Russian Federation, 24 February to 15 May 2022 |date=29 June 2022 |publisher=OHCHR |access-date=9 August 2022 |at=para. 53, 80 |archive-date=2 July 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220702112851/https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/country-reports/situation-human-rights-ukraine-context-armed-attack-russian-federation |url-status=live }}

Vitaliy Vinohradov, the academic dean of the Kyiv Slavic Evangelical Seminary, was among the dead in Bucha.{{cite web |title=Bucha killings: Ukrainian dean of Evangelical seminary among the dead |url=https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/bucha-killings-ukrainian-dean-of-evangelical-seminary-among-the-dead |access-date=18 April 2022 |website=premierchristian.news |language=en |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406095711/https://premierchristian.news/en/news/article/bucha-killings-ukrainian-dean-of-evangelical-seminary-among-the-dead |url-status=live }} The body of Zoreslav Zamoysky, a local freelance journalist, was also found in Bucha,{{cite web |date=13 April 2022 |title=After Russian withdrawal, Ukrainian journalists found killed in Bucha and Yahidne |url=https://cpj.org/2022/04/after-russian-withdrawal-ukrainian-journalists-found-killed-in-bucha-and-yagodnoye/ |access-date=2022-04-18 |website=Committee to Protect Journalists |language=en-US |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413174741/https://cpj.org/2022/04/after-russian-withdrawal-ukrainian-journalists-found-killed-in-bucha-and-yagodnoye/ |url-status=live }} and was subsequently buried in the village of Barakhty.{{Cite web |title='History can come back': Passover sorrow at a Jewish burial near Kyiv |url=https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-jewish-community-buries-dead-passover-kyiv-rcna25535 |access-date=2022-06-02 |website=NBC News |date=22 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=3 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603010321/https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/russia-ukraine-war-jewish-community-buries-dead-passover-kyiv-rcna25535 |url-status=live }} Businessman and former 2004 Ukrainian presidential election candidate Oleksandr Rzhavskyy was killed in Bucha at his estate. Rzhavskyy was previously noted to be a pro-Russian politician, criticized the post-2014 Ukrainian government and praised Vladimir Putin. According to his daughter, he had been abducted twice from his estate by Russian soldiers who had demanded a ransom and, during a drunken binge, had shot him dead.{{cite web |date=8 April 2022 |title=В Бучі п'яні окупанти застрелили екс-нардепа та кандидата в президенти Олександра Ржавського |trans-title=In Bucha, drunken occupiers shot dead former People's Deputy and presidential candidate Oleksandr Rzhavsky |url=https://cripo.com.ua/news/war/v-buchi-p-yani-okupanti-zastrelili-eks-nardepa-ta-kandidata-v-prezidenti-oleksandra-rzhavskogo/ |access-date=8 May 2022 |website=УКРАИНА КРИМИНАЛЬНАЯ |language=ru-RU |archive-date=3 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220603085235/https://cripo.com.ua/news/war/v-buchi-p-yani-okupanti-zastrelili-eks-nardepa-ta-kandidata-v-prezidenti-oleksandra-rzhavskogo/ |url-status=live }}

The Ukrainian media published the names of Russian soldiers they alleged were based at Bucha during the occupation.{{cite web |last=Mirovalev |first=Mansur |title=Bucha killings: 'The world cannot be tricked anymore' |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/4/will-the-bucha-massacre-wake-up-the-world |access-date=6 April 2022 |publisher=Al Jazeera |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404232736/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2022/4/4/will-the-bucha-massacre-wake-up-the-world |url-status=live}}{{Cite web |title=Main Intelligence Directorate of Ukraine published a list of Russian soldiers involved in the atrocities in Bucha |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/4/7337048/ |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Ukrayinska Pravda |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404135827/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/4/7337048/ |url-status=live }} On 6 April 2022, CNN cited an unnamed US official as saying that identification of the Russian units involved in the Bucha atrocities was "an extremely high priority" for the US intelligence agencies, which had been using all available tools and assets in their work and were "at the point of 'narrowing down' responsibility".{{cite news |title=US believes it can 'identify the Russian units' that carried out Bucha atrocities, official says |url=https://edition.cnn.com/europe/live-news/ukraine-russia-putin-news-04-06-22/h_ebdf6a26343a2135588db9a5fcd8f231 |access-date=6 April 2022 |agency=CNN |date=6 April 2022 |language=en}} According to a report from Der Spiegel, the German Federal Intelligence Service (BND) briefed parliamentarians on 6 April 2022 regarding radio intercepts of Russian soldiers in the area north of Kyiv, linking them to specific atrocities in Bucha. According to the report, the BND provided evidence that an airborne regiment and an army unit were initially responsible for the crimes, and that the Wagner Group later played a leading role in the atrocities. The BND said that the killings were not considered exceptional by the soldiers discussing them, and, according to sources familiar with the intercepts, the atrocities had become a standard element of Russian military activity.{{cite news |last1=Amann |first1=Melanie |last2=Gebauer |first2=Matthias |last3=Schmid |first3=Fidelius |date=7 April 2022 |title=Possible Evidence of Russian Atrocities: German Intelligence Intercepts Radio Traffic Discussing the Murder of Civilians in Bucha |language=en |newspaper=Der Spiegel |url=https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/possible-evidence-of-russian-atrocities-german-intelligence-intercepts-radio-traffic-discussing-the-murder-of-civilians-in-bucha-a-0a191c96-634f-4d07-8c5c-c4a772315b0d |access-date=7 April 2022 |issn=2195-1349 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407155015/https://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/possible-evidence-of-russian-atrocities-german-intelligence-intercepts-radio-traffic-discussing-the-murder-of-civilians-in-bucha-a-0a191c96-634f-4d07-8c5c-c4a772315b0d |archive-date=7 April 2022 |url-status=live}}{{cite web | url=https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/bnd-ukraine-105.html | title=Gräueltaten von Butscha: BND fing russische Funksprüche ab | access-date=28 September 2022 | archive-date=28 September 2022 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220928222906/https://www.tagesschau.de/inland/bnd-ukraine-105.html | url-status=live }}

Ukrainian activists said that the 64th Motor Rifle Brigade under the command of Lt. Col. Azatbek Omurbekov,{{cite news |title='There are maniacs who enjoy killing,' Russian defector says of his former unit accused of war crimes in Bucha |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/13/europe/russian-defector-war-crimes-intl-cmd/index.html |work=CNN |date=14 December 2022 |access-date=30 March 2023 |archive-date=11 March 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230311053105/http://edition.cnn.com/2022/12/13/europe/russian-defector-war-crimes-intl-cmd/index.html |url-status=live }} a part of the Eastern Military District's 35th Army, was occupying Bucha when the atrocities took place.{{Cite news |date=5 April 2022 |title=Ukraine war: Zelensky fears worst atrocities still to be found |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60994848 |access-date=5 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407202949/https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-60994848 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=için |first=Bucha'da sivillerin cansız bedenleri toplu mezarlara gömülüyordaha fazla video |title=Ukrayna her yerde onu arıyor... İşte Buça katliamının baş şüphelisi |url=https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/ukrayna-her-yerde-onu-ariyor-iste-buca-katliaminin-bas-suphelisi-42037094 |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Hurriyet Daily News |date=5 April 2022 |language=tr |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405105058/https://www.hurriyet.com.tr/dunya/ukrayna-her-yerde-onu-ariyor-iste-buca-katliaminin-bas-suphelisi-42037094 |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Gall |first=Carlotta |date=5 April 2022 |title=In Bucha 'they shot everyone they saw' |url=https://www.smh.com.au/world/europe/in-bucha-they-shot-everyone-they-saw-20220405-p5aay1.html |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=The Sydney Morning Herald |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405070208/https://amp.smh.com.au/world/europe/in-bucha-they-shot-everyone-they-saw-20220405-p5aay1.html |url-status=live }} Various Ukrainian groups used open-source intelligence to identify the 64th as part of the occupation forces in an effort to track down those responsible.{{cite web |last=Stewart |first=Will |date=4 April 2022 |title=Hunt for Russian commanders in charge of Bucha atrocities as colonel named |url=https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/hunt-for-russian-commander-in-charge-of-bucha-atrocities-as-colonel-named-b992288.html |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Evening Standard |language=en |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404112442/https://www.standard.co.uk/news/world/hunt-for-russian-commander-in-charge-of-bucha-atrocities-as-colonel-named-b992288.html |url-status=live}} Ukrayinska Pravda, quoting the Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate, said that the 64th was pulled out of the area, with the intention of returning to Ukraine, to the Kharkiv front.{{cite web |title=The invaders who were in Bucha will be returned to Ukraine – Ukrainian Intelligence Directorate |url=https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/5/7337358/ |access-date=6 April 2022 |website=Ukrayinska Pravda |language=en |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405170047/https://www.pravda.com.ua/eng/news/2022/04/5/7337358/ |url-status=live }} In addition, two units of Kadyrovite Chechens, one from the Special Rapid Response Force (SOBR) and a paramilitary riot-control force known as OMON, were involved in the military occupation of Bucha and nearby villages.{{Cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Everyone should know their names! Ukrainian intelligence published the names of the Russian military who staged the #BuchaMassacre |url=https://odessa-journal.com/everyone-should-know-their-names-ukrainian-intelligence-published-the-names-of-the-russian-military-who-staged-the-buchamassacre/ |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=Odessa Journal |language=en-US |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404115600/https://odessa-journal.com/everyone-should-know-their-names-ukrainian-intelligence-published-the-names-of-the-russian-military-who-staged-the-buchamassacre/ |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Hunt for 'out of control' Russian forces suspected of Bucha war crimes focuses on seven units |url=https://inews.co.uk/news/ukraine-bucha-hunt-launched-russian-units-atrocities-biden-putin-war-crimes-trail-1556754 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406094050/https://inews.co.uk/news/ukraine-bucha-hunt-launched-russian-units-atrocities-biden-putin-war-crimes-trail-1556754 |archive-date=6 April 2022 |access-date=5 April 2022 |website=inews.co.uk |language=en}} On 19 May 2022, The New York Times reported that documents recovered where Ukrainian men were executed belonged to the 104th Guards Air Assault Regiment and the 234th Guards Air Assault Regiment. An investigation by the Associated Press revealed that the 76th Guards Air Assault Division was running the Russian occupation headquarters at the 144 Yablunska street from where the cleansing operation of Bucha was coordinated. Ukrainian prosecutors are pursuing the commander, Maj. Gen. Sergei Chubarykin, and his boss, Col. Gen. Alexander Chaiko, for their responsibility for the operation.{{cite web |title=How Russian soldiers ran a 'cleansing' operation in Bucha |url=https://apnews.com/article/bucha-ukraine-war-cleansing-investigation-43e5a9538e9ba68a035756b05028b8b4 |publisher=Associated Press |access-date=6 November 2022 |language=en |date=3 November 2022 |archive-date=6 November 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221106005838/https://apnews.com/article/bucha-ukraine-war-cleansing-investigation-43e5a9538e9ba68a035756b05028b8b4 |url-status=live }}

{{see also|Task Force on Accountability for Crimes Committed in Ukraine|International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine|UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine|Universal jurisdiction investigations of war crimes in Ukraine}}

File:Bucha after Russian occupation (04).jpg

The foreign ministry requested that the International Criminal Court investigation in Ukraine send investigators to Bucha and other areas of Kyiv Oblast. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba also called on other international groups to collect evidence.{{cite news |title=Kuleba calls on ICC mission to come to Bucha to collect evidence of Russian war crimes |date=3 April 2022 |newspaper=Interfax-Ukraine |url=https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/820649.html |access-date= 3 April 2022 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20220403154041/https://en.interfax.com.ua/news/general/820649.html |archive-date= 3 April 2022 |url-status=live}}{{cite news |title=Evidence grows of civilian killings in Bucha |language=en-GB |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60968546 |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=2 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220402225036/https://www.bbc.com/news/av/world-europe-60968546 |url-status=live}}

Russia requested a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council, of which it is one of five permanent members, to address what it called a "heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals", the footage of dead bodies in Bucha, which it said was staged.{{cite news |title=Russia Seeks UN Security Council Meeting on Bucha, Ukraine |work=The Moscow Times |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/04/russia-seeks-un-security-council-meeting-on-bucha-ukraine-a77194 |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404050034/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/04/04/russia-seeks-un-security-council-meeting-on-bucha-ukraine-a77194 |url-status=live}} Alexander Bastrykin, head of the Investigative Committee of Russia, ordered an investigation into what he labelled a "Ukrainian provocation", accusing Ukrainian authorities of spreading "deliberately false information" about the actions of the Russian armed forces.{{cite news |title=Russia orders probe of Ukrainian 'provocation' over civilian deaths in Bucha |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-orders-probe-ukrainian-provocation-over-civilian-deaths-bucha-2022-04-04/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212153/https://www.reuters.com/world/russia-orders-probe-ukrainian-provocation-over-civilian-deaths-bucha-2022-04-04/ |url-status=live}}

On 6 May 2022, Amnesty International published the results of their investigation of the massacre. It concluded that Russian forces were guilty of unlawful attacks and willful killings of civilians in Bucha, Andriivka, Zdvyzhivka, and Vorzel. In Bucha alone, 22 different cases of killings by Russian forces were confirmed. Amnesty International called on the International Criminal Court to bring the perpetrators to justice:

{{blockquote|All those responsible for war crimes should be held criminally responsible for their actions. Under the doctrine of command responsibility, hierarchal superiors – including commanders and civilian leaders, such as ministers and heads of state – who knew or had reason to know about war crimes committed by their forces, but did not attempt to stop them or punish those responsible, should also be held criminally responsible.}}

On 22 December 2022, The New York Times published the results of their investigation of the massacre. The eight-month visual investigation by the paper concluded that the perpetrators of the massacre along Yablunska Street were Russian paratroopers from the 234th Air Assault Regiment (part of 76th Guards Air Assault Division) led by Lt. Col. Artyom Gorodilov.{{Cite news |last1=Al-Hlou |first1=Yousur |last2=Froliak |first2=Masha |last3=Khavin |first3=Dmitriy |last4=Koettl |first4=Christoph |last5=Willis |first5=Haley |last6=Cardia |first6=Alexander |last7=Reneau |first7=Natalie |last8=Browne |first8=Malachy |date=2022-12-22 |title=Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in Bucha |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/video/russia-ukraine-bucha-massacre-takeaways.html |access-date=2022-12-24 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=24 December 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221224170756/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/22/video/russia-ukraine-bucha-massacre-takeaways.html |url-status=live }}

File:Volodomyr Zelensky's speech on the Russian massacre of Bucha, c. April 2022.ogg

Foreign Minister Kuleba described the events as a "deliberate massacre". He said Russia was "worse than ISIS" and that Russian forces were guilty of murder, torture, rape, and looting. Kuleba also urged the G7 countries to impose "devastating" additional sanctions.{{cite web |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/eu-leaders-condemn-killing-of-unarmed-civilians-in-bucha-and-kyiv |title=Killing of civilians in Bucha and Kyiv condemned as 'terrible war crime' |date=3 April 2022 |website=The Guardian |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404073342/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/03/eu-leaders-condemn-killing-of-unarmed-civilians-in-bucha-and-kyiv |url-status=live}}

In an interview with Bild, Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko said that "what happened in Bucha and other suburbs of Kyiv can only be described as genocide" and accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of war crimes.{{cite news |author=AP |title=Kyiv mayor says Russian attacks in Bucha are 'genocide' |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/kyiv-mayor-says-russian-attacks-in-bucha-are-genocide/ |access-date=3 April 2022 |newspaper=The Times of Israel |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403105132/https://www.timesofisrael.com/liveblog_entry/kyiv-mayor-says-russian-attacks-in-bucha-are-genocide/ |url-status=live }} Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the area on 4 April 2022, to see for himself the reported atrocities in Bucha.{{cite news |last= |first= |date=5 April 2018 |title=Zelenskyy visits Bucha after Russians left civilians dead in streets |url=https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018837081/zelenskyy-visits-bucha-after-russians-left-civilians-dead-in-streets |work=Radio New Zealand |location= |access-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407084853/https://www.rnz.co.nz/national/programmes/checkpoint/audio/2018837081/zelenskyy-visits-bucha-after-russians-left-civilians-dead-in-streets |archive-date=7 April 2022 |url-status=live}}

Speaking to the United Nations Security Council on 5 April, Zelenskyy said that the massacre was "unfortunately only one example of what the occupiers have been doing on our territory for the past 41 days",{{cite news |title=Ukraine's Zelenskyy to UN: Bucha is 'only one' example of Russian atrocities |url=https://www.dw.com/en/ukraines-zelenskyy-to-un-bucha-is-only-one-example-of-russian-atrocities/a-61368261 |access-date=5 April 2022 |work=DW.com |date=5 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407085216/https://www.dw.com/en/ukraines-zelenskyy-to-un-bucha-is-only-one-example-of-russian-atrocities/a-61368261 |url-status=live}} and that "Russian tanks had crushed people 'for pleasure{{' "}}.{{cite news |title=Ukraine war: Zelensky tells UN of horrors of Russian invasion |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-61002914 |access-date=5 April 2022 |work=BBC News |date=5 April 2022}} He called for Russia to be held accountable for the actions of its military, and lose its position on the Security Council.

On 14 April 2022, Verkhovna Rada recognized Russia's actions in Ukraine as genocide, and cited the massacre as an example.{{cite web |title=Verkhovna Rada recognizes Russia's actions as genocide against Ukraine. |url=https://kyivindependent.com/verkhovna-rada-recognizes-russias-actions-as-genocide-against-ukraine/ |website=kyivindependent.com |publisher=Kyiv Independent |access-date=4 August 2024}}{{cite web |title=DECLARATION of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine On the Genocide Committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine |url=https://itd.rada.gov.ua/billinfo/Додаток(eng).pdf |website=itd.rada.gov.ua |publisher=Verkhovna Rada |access-date=4 August 2024}}

File:Plenary opening - A minute of silence for the victims of Ukraine war - 51988360879.jpg

File:Denys Shmyhal, EU officials and Eduard Heger visited Bucha after the massacre (2).jpg

The massacre was condemned by the president of the European Council, Charles Michel, who said he was "shocked by haunting images of atrocities committed by [the] Russian army in Kyiv" and promised the EU would assist Ukraine and human rights groups in collecting evidence for use in international courts.{{cite news |title=EU accuses Russian troops of committing atrocities in Ukrainian town Bucha |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-accuses-russian-troops-committing-atrocities-ukrainian-town-bucha-2022-04-03/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |work=Reuters |date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404002104/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/eu-accuses-russian-troops-committing-atrocities-ukrainian-town-bucha-2022-04-03/ |url-status=live}} NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg similarly expressed his horror at the targeting of civilians.{{cite web |last1=Ioanes |first1=Ellen |title=Russian troops pull back from Kyiv, leaving horrors in their wake |url=https://www.vox.com/2022/4/3/23009048/russian-troops-retreat-in-ukraine-civilian-deaths-discovered |publisher=Vox |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403220456/https://www.vox.com/2022/4/3/23009048/russian-troops-retreat-in-ukraine-civilian-deaths-discovered |archive-date=3 April 2022 |date=3 April 2022 |url-status=live}}

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres expressed his shock at the images and called for an independent investigation that would ensure accountability.{{cite web |title=Secretary-General, Deeply Shocked by Killings in Ukraine, Urges Accountability |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sgsm21227.doc.htm |website=United Nations Meetings Coverage and Press Releases |date=3 April 2022}}{{cite news |title=U.N. chief calls for independent probe of civilian deaths in Ukrainian town |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/un-chief-calls-independent-probe-civilian-deaths-ukrainian-town-2022-04-03/ |access-date=3 April 2022 |work=Reuters |date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403175057/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/un-chief-calls-independent-probe-civilian-deaths-ukrainian-town-2022-04-03/ |url-status=live }} The UN Security Council convened on 5 April to discuss the situation, including a video address from President Zelenskyy.{{cite news |title=Ukraine's President calls on Security Council to act for peace, or 'dissolve' itself |url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115632 |website=news.un.org|date=5 April 2022}}{{cite web |title=Describing Relentless Russian Attacks against His Country, Ukraine President Challenges Security Council to Act for Peace or Disband United Nations |url=https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sc14854.doc.htm |website=United Nations Meetings Coverage and Press Releases |date=5 April 2022 |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406141657/https://www.un.org/press/en/2022/sc14854.doc.htm |url-status=live}}

On 7 April, the United States initiated a resolution at the emergency special session of the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, the UN's leading human rights body.{{cite news |last1=Lederer |first1=Edith M. |title=UN to vote Thursday on suspending Russia from rights council |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-general-assembly-voting-rights-kyiv-united-nations-d42fdcd5f6428c3bac7a155354170068 |access-date=7 April 2022 |work=AP News |agency=Associated Press |date=6 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407072006/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-united-nations-general-assembly-voting-rights-kyiv-united-nations-d42fdcd5f6428c3bac7a155354170068 |url-status=live}} The resolution passed, with 93 countries voting for the proposal, 24 against, and 58 abstaining.{{cite news |last1=Lederer |first1=Edith M. |title=UN ousts Russia from Human Rights Council |url=https://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/world-news/un-ousts-russia-from-human-rights-council-41530906.html |access-date=7 April 2022 |work=The Belfast Telegraph |agency=Associated Press |date=7 April 2022}} Russia is the second country to have its membership rights revoked at the council, after Libya in 2011, and the only permanent member of the Security Council to have its rights revoked.

Foreign ministers from the G7 issued a joint statement condemning the "atrocities" committed by Russia in Bucha and other parts of Ukraine.{{cite news |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/g7-condemns-bucha-atrocities/31791098.html |title=G7 Condemns 'In Strongest Terms' Russian 'Atrocities' In Bucha |website=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty |date=7 April 2022 |access-date=10 April 2022 |archive-date=10 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220410163634/https://www.rferl.org/a/g7-condemns-bucha-atrocities/31791098.html |url-status=live }}

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen visited Bucha on 8 April, viewing mass graves and describing the massacre as "the cruel face of Putin's army".{{cite news |author= |date=8 April 2022 |title='Unthinkable': Ursula von der Leyen shown mass grave in Bucha |work=The Guardian |location= |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/apr/08/unthinkable-ursula-von-der-leyen-shown-mass-grave-in-bucha-video |access-date=8 April 2022 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408163441/https://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2022/apr/08/unthinkable-ursula-von-der-leyen-shown-mass-grave-in-bucha-video |url-status=live }} Von der Leyen later visited Kyiv and met with Zelenskyy, presenting Zelenskyy with paperwork to begin the process of Ukraine's accession to the European Union and offering to fast-track Ukraine's application.{{cite news |author= |date=8 April 2022 |title=Ukraine: EU chief offers Kyiv fast track to membership |work=Deutsche Welle |location= |url=https://dw.com/en/ukraine-eu-chief-offers-kyiv-fast-track-to-membership/a-61409635 |access-date=8 April 2022 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408190726/https://www.dw.com/en/ukraine-eu-chief-offers-kyiv-fast-track-to-membership/a-61409635 |url-status=live }}

Leaders of neighbouring European countries condemned the attack and called for investigations into the atrocities. Estonian Prime Minister Kaja Kallas compared the images of the event to those of mass killings committed by the Soviet Union and Nazi Germany, and called for details to be gathered and perpetrators brought to court,{{cite web|title=HÄIRIVAD KAADRID | Venemaa korraldas Butša linnas massimõrva |trans-title=INTERFERING FRAMES & # 124; Russia carried out a massacre in the city of Bucha |url=https://www.delfi.ee/a/96318291 |website=Delfi |first=Miikael |last=Raun |date=3 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |language=et |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212128/https://www.delfi.ee/a/96318291 |url-status=live}} while Slovak Prime Minister Eduard Heger compared the massacre with the "apocalypse of war in former Yugoslavia".{{cite web |date=3 April 2022 |title=Premiér: Barbarské vyčíňanie ruských vojakov na Ukrajine bude tvrdo potrestané |trans-title=Prime Minister: Barbaric acts of Russian soldiers in Ukraine will be severely punished |url=https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/5ZmsTHe/premier-barbarske-vycinanie-ruskych-vojakov-na-ukrajine-bude-tvrdo-potrestane/ |website=aktuality.sk |language=sk |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212153/https://www.aktuality.sk/clanok/5ZmsTHe/premier-barbarske-vycinanie-ruskych-vojakov-na-ukrajine-bude-tvrdo-potrestane/ |url-status=live}} Moldovan President Maia Sandu called the event "crimes against humanity" and declared 4 April 2022 a day of national mourning in memory of all Ukrainians killed in the Russo-Ukrainian war.{{cite web|url=https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/externe/maia-sandu-anunta-zi-de-doliu-national-in-republica-moldova-dupa-masacrul-de-la-bucha-1893081 |title=Maia Sandu anunță zi de doliu național în Republica Moldova după Masacrul de la Bucha |trans-title=Maia Sandu announces a day of national mourning in the Republic of Moldova after the Bucha Massacre |work=Digi24 |date=3 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |language=ro |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404101144/https://www.digi24.ro/stiri/externe/maia-sandu-anunta-zi-de-doliu-national-in-republica-moldova-dupa-masacrul-de-la-bucha-1893081 |url-status=live}} Amongst Ukraine and Russia's other neighbours, such condemnations were also expressed by political leaders in Finland,{{cite web |date=3 April 2022 |title=Sanna Marin ja Sauli Niinistö järkyttyivät: "Sotarikokset on tutkittava" |trans-title=Sanna Marin and Sauli Niinistö shocked: "War crimes must be investigated" |url=https://www.uusisuomi.fi/uutiset/sanna-marin-ja-sauli-niinisto-jarkyttyivat-sotarikokset-on-tutkittava/e6f76c51-5f41-43fb-8b35-854bbcaf8d83 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403215052/https://www.uusisuomi.fi/uutiset/sanna-marin-ja-sauli-niinisto-jarkyttyivat-sotarikokset-on-tutkittava/e6f76c51-5f41-43fb-8b35-854bbcaf8d83 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |language=Finnish |newspaper=Uusi Suomi}} Lithuania,{{cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Lietuvos reakcija į karą prieš Ukrainą: Rusijos ambasadorius išsiunčiamas iš šalies, uždaromas konsulatas Klaipėdoje |trans-title=Lithuania's reaction to the war against Ukraine: Russian ambassador expelled, consulate in Klaipeda closes |url=https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/1662294/lietuvos-reakcija-i-kara-pries-ukraina-rusijos-ambasadorius-issiunciamas-is-salies |access-date=4 April 2022 |website=LRT |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212155/https://www.lrt.lt/naujienos/lietuvoje/2/1662294/lietuvos-reakcija-i-kara-pries-ukraina-rusijos-ambasadorius-issiunciamas-is-salies |url-status=live}} Poland,{{cite web |date=3 April 2022 |title=Polish Minister Calls for Investigation of Russian Army's Actions in Kyiv Region |url=https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-04-03/polish-minister-calls-for-investigation-of-russian-armys-actions-in-kyiv-region/ |website=US News |language=en |access-date=3 April 2022 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403163151/https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-04-03/polish-minister-calls-for-investigation-of-russian-armys-actions-in-kyiv-region |url-status=live}} and Turkey.{{cite news|title=Turkey calls for probe into civilian deaths in Bucha |url=https://english.alarabiya.net/News/world/2022/04/06/Turkey-calls-for-probe-into-civilian-deaths-in-Bucha |publisher=Al Arabiya |date=6 April 2022}}{{cite news|title=Turkey calls for probe into civilian deaths in Ukraine's Bucha |url=https://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkey-calls-for-probe-into-civilian-deaths-in-ukraines-bucha-172778 |work=Hürriyet Daily News |date=6 April 2022}}

These events led to numerous European Union members{{snd}}including Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and Sweden{{snd}}ordering the expulsion of more than 200 Russian diplomats from their countries.{{citation|url=https://www.politico.eu/article/italy-denmark-expel-russian-diplomats-over-security-concerns/ |title=Six EU countries to expel Russian diplomats |work=Politico |date=5 April 2022 |access-date= 6 April 2022 |language=en}}{{cite web |date=5 April 2022 |title=EU allies expel 200 Russian diplomats in two days after Bucha killings |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/eu-allies-expel-over-120-russian-diplomats-in-two-days-after-bucha-killings |access-date=6 April 2022 |website=The Guardian |language=en |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405122846/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/eu-allies-expel-over-120-russian-diplomats-in-two-days-after-bucha-killings |url-status=live }} Such expulsions were also effected by Japan.{{citation |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-expels-eight-russian-diplomats-condemns-situation-ukraine-2022-04-08/ |title=Japan expels eight Russian diplomats, condemns situation in Ukraine |work=Reuters |date=8 April 2022 |access-date=8 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408142236/https://www.reuters.com/world/asia-pacific/japan-expels-eight-russian-diplomats-condemns-situation-ukraine-2022-04-08/ |url-status=live }}

It was reported that several Chinese state media outlets highlighted claims from Russia that Ukraine staged the incident, repeated Russian claims against responsibility, and claimed the United States was responsible for the war.{{Cite news |last=Carey |first=Alexis |date=7 April 2022 |title=Chinese state media's shocking claim after evidence of Russian torture revealed |work=news.com.au |url=https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/chinese-state-medias-shocking-claim-after-evidence-of-russian-torture-revealed/news-story/74876db83d66eed3b46e9e25588664ef |access-date=6 June 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407082135/https://www.news.com.au/finance/business/media/chinese-state-medias-shocking-claim-after-evidence-of-russian-torture-revealed/news-story/74876db83d66eed3b46e9e25588664ef |url-status=live }} Representatives of China and India to the UN Security Council described the reports as "deeply disturbing" and backed calls for international investigations.{{cite web |date=5 April 2022 |title=China's envoy to U.N. calls images of dead civilians from Bucha 'very disturbing' |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-envoy-un-calls-images-dead-civilians-bucha-very-disturbing-2022-04-05/ |access-date=5 April 2022 |work=Reuters |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405172158/https://www.reuters.com/world/china/chinas-envoy-un-calls-images-dead-civilians-bucha-very-disturbing-2022-04-05/ |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last=Laskar |first=Rezaul H. |date=5 April 2022 |title='Deeply disturbing': India condemns civilian killings in Ukraine's Bucha at UNSC meet, seeks independent probe |language=en |work=Hindustan Times |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/at-unsc-meet-india-condemns-civilian-killings-in-ukraine-s-bucha-seeks-probe-101649175208239.html |access-date=5 April 2022}} In China, such reactions were also echoed at a press briefing by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, although blame for the incident was not directly attributed to any of the involved actors.{{cite web |date=6 April 2022 |title=China calls for probe into 'disturbing' Bucha killings, assigns no blame |url=https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-calls-for-probe-into-disturbing-bucha-killings-assigns-no-blame-101649249613769.html |access-date=8 April 2022 |agency=Hindustan Times |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406131732/https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/china-calls-for-probe-into-disturbing-bucha-killings-assigns-no-blame-101649249613769.html |url-status=live }} This refusal to assign blame was followed by the repetition in Chinese state media of Russian claims disputing the veracity of the events.{{cite news |last1=McCarthy |first1=Simone |last2=Xiong |first2=Yong |date=6 April 2022 |title=As the world reacts in horror to Bucha, China's state media strikes a different tone |work=CNN |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/china/china-reacts-bucha-ukraine-atrocities-intl-hnk-mic/index.html |access-date=9 April 2022 |archive-date=9 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220409022758/https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/06/china/china-reacts-bucha-ukraine-atrocities-intl-hnk-mic/index.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite news |last1=Mozur |first1=Paul |last2=Myers |first2=Steven Lee |last3=Liu |first3=John |date=2022-04-11 |title=China's Echoes of Russia's Alternate Reality Intensify Around the World |language=en-US |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/technology/china-russia-propaganda.html |access-date=2022-05-17 |issn=0362-4331 |archive-date=20 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220520232804/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/11/technology/china-russia-propaganda.html |url-status=live }} Putin's ally, Belarusian president Alexander Lukashenko, also called the Bucha massacre a "false flag attack" and a "{{'}}psychological operation' orchestrated by British operatives in order to introduce new sanctions against Russia", and purportedly gave Putin documents relating to these allegations.{{cite news |date=12 April 2022 |title=Talks with Kiev and provocation in Bucha: what Putin, Lukashenko discussed |work=TASS |url=https://tass.com/politics/1436653 |access-date=12 April 2022 |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412170457/https://tass.com/politics/1436653 |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Ball |first1=Tom |date=12 April 2022 |title=Belarus leader Lukashenko: Britain staged Bucha massacre of civilians |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-attempts-to-isolate-russia-over-ukraine-war-are-doomed-0knkbr2qv |url-access=subscription |access-date=12 April 2022 |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412135638/https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/putin-attempts-to-isolate-russia-over-ukraine-war-are-doomed-0knkbr2qv |url-status=live }}{{cite news |last1=Wilkie |first1=Christina |date=12 April 2022 |title=Putin and Lukashenko falsely claim British operatives committed the atrocities in Bucha |work=CNBC |url=https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/putin-and-lukashenko-claim-british-operatives-committed-the-atrocities-in-bucha.html |access-date=13 April 2022 |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412234709/https://www.cnbc.com/2022/04/12/putin-and-lukashenko-claim-british-operatives-committed-the-atrocities-in-bucha.html |url-status=live }}{{cite web |last=Batchelor |first=Tom |date=12 April 2022 |title=Belarus leader Lukashenko makes baseless claim UK responsible for Bucha atrocities |url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lukashenko-belarus-bucha-britain-ukraine-b2056400.html |access-date=14 April 2022 |website=The Independent |language=en |archive-date=12 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220412140644/https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/lukashenko-belarus-bucha-britain-ukraine-b2056400.html |url-status=live }} The Cuban state newspaper Granma also claimed that the incident was staged, reporting that the images from Bucha "distort reality and give the world an unreal version of what happened, after the abandonment of Russian troops",{{Cite web |last=Saavedra |first=Alejandro |date=2022-04-22 |title=La prensa castrista desinforma sobre la masacre de Bucha en Ucrania {{!}} DIARIO DE CUBA |url=https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1650468493_38940.html |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=Diario de Cuba |language=es |archive-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606053238/https://diariodecuba.com/cuba/1650468493_38940.html |url-status=live }}{{Cite web |title=Bucha o la mentira fabricada |url=https://www.granma.cu/conflicto-ucrania/2022-04-06/bucha-o-la-mentira-como-pretexto-06-04-2022-21-04-32 |access-date=2022-06-06 |website=Granma |language=es |archive-date=5 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220605053909/https://www.granma.cu/conflicto-ucrania/2022-04-06/bucha-o-la-mentira-como-pretexto-06-04-2022-21-04-32 |url-status=live }} while Telesur, owned and operated by the governments of Cuba, Nicaragua, and Venezuela, described the massacre as "a fake news story".{{Cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Alleged Russian army massacre in Bucha a fake news story |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z207WkNftgE |access-date=6 June 2022 |website=Telesur |archive-date=6 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220606053239/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z207WkNftgE |url-status=live }}

US President Joe Biden called for Putin to be tried for war crimes. Biden also stated that he supported additional sanctions on Russia.{{cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Biden calls for war crimes trial after Bucha images surface |url=https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/04/politics/joe-biden-bucha-russia-war-crimes/index.html |website=CNN |language=en |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212158/https://www.cnn.com/2022/04/04/politics/joe-biden-bucha-russia-war-crimes/index.html |url-status=live}}{{cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Biden Floats Putin War-Crimes Trial, More Sanctions on Russia |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-04/biden-urges-more-sanctions-on-russia-calls-for-war-crimes-trial |website=bloomberg.com |language=en |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404151828/https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-04-04/biden-urges-more-sanctions-on-russia-calls-for-war-crimes-trial |url-status=live }} A similar sentiment was shared by British prime minister Boris Johnson, who said that economic sanctions against Russia and military support for Ukraine would be stepped up as a result.{{cite news |title=Ukraine war: Boris Johnson condemns Russia's 'despicable' civilian attacks |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60974339 |work=BBC News |date=3 April 2022 |access-date=9 April 2022 |archive-date=18 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220418201316/https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-60974339 |url-status=live }}

French President Emmanuel Macron described the actions of the Russian military as amounting to war crimes and that new sanctions were necessary in response. Macron suggested targeting the Russian oil and coal industries.{{cite news |author= |date=4 April 2022 |title=Bucha killings demand new sanctions on Russia, Macron says |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-president-macron-new-sanctions-russia-needed-after-killings-ukraines-2022-04-04/ |work=Reuters |location=Paris |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404072434/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/french-president-macron-new-sanctions-russia-needed-after-killings-ukraines-2022-04-04/ |url-status=live }} Subsequently, the European Union announced additional sanctions against Russia, including a ban on imports of coal, wood, rubber, cement, fertilisers, and other products from Russia. The ban on coal imports was expected to cost Russia €8 billion annually. The additional sanctions also included export bans on high-tech equipment and technology from Europe. In announcing the sanctions, European Commission vice president Josep Borrell stated that they were adopted "following the atrocities committed by Russian armed forces in Bucha".{{cite news |author= |date=8 April 2022 |title=EU adopts fresh sanctions against Russia including coal import ban |work=France24 |location= |url=https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220408-eu-adopts-fresh-sanctions-against-russia-including-coal-import-ban |access-date=8 April 2022 |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408125244/https://www.france24.com/en/europe/20220408-eu-adopts-fresh-sanctions-against-russia-including-coal-import-ban |url-status=live }}

{{See also|Disinformation in the Russian invasion of Ukraine|Propaganda in Russia}}

File:Владимир Путин (18-06-2023) (cropped).jpg denied that Russian troops were responsible for the massacre of civilians in Bucha.]]

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov called the massacre a "fake attack" used against Russia, claiming it had been staged. He said that Russian forces had left Bucha on 30 March while evidence of killings had emerged, according to him, four days later, following the arrival in Bucha of the Ukrainian security service, and claimed that on 31 March Bucha's Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk had released a video message stating that the Russian army had left the city without mentioning any locals shot in the streets.{{cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Lavrov slams situation in Bucha as fake attack staged by West |url=https://tass.com/world/1432013 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404212156/https://tass.com/world/1432013 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |access-date=4 April 2022 |agency=TASS}}{{cite news |date=4 April 2022 |title=Russia to demand convening UN SC session over Bucha provocation again |agency=TASS |url=https://tass.com/politics/1431949 |url-status=live |access-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404113217/https://tass.com/politics/1431949 |archive-date=4 April 2022}} The Associated Press reported that Mayor Fedoruk did give his account about "dead bodies piling up in Bucha" on 7 March.{{cite news |url=https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-business-media-facebook-21d36ea4370bab98b1cc93baa0815dd8 |author-first1=Amanda |author-last1=Seitz |author-first2=Arijeta |author-last2=Lajka |title=Russian media campaign falsely claims Bucha deaths are fakes |work=Associated Press |date=6 April 2022 |access-date=12 April 2022 |archive-date=13 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220413225132/https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-kyiv-business-media-facebook-21d36ea4370bab98b1cc93baa0815dd8 |url-status=live }}

On 4 April, at the United Nations, the Russian representative Vasily Nebenzya said that the bodies in the videos were not there before the Russian forces withdrew from Bucha.{{cite news |last=Ball |first=Tom |date=5 April 2022 |title=Satellite images show bodies in Bucha before Russian retreat |language= |work=The Times |url=https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/satellite-images-show-bodies-in-bucha-before-russian-retreat-from-suburb-of-ukraine-capital-z2lr2tcpl |url-access=subscription |access-date=5 April 2022 |issn=0140-0460}} This was contradicted by satellite images that showed that the bodies were there as early as 19 March;{{cite news |date=5 April 2022 |title=Bucha killings: Satellite image of bodies site contradicts Russian claims |work=BBC News |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/60981238 |url-status=live |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407203106/https://www.bbc.com/news/60981238 |archive-date=7 April 2022}} the position of the corpses in the satellite images matched the smartphone photos taken in early April.{{cite news |title=Satellite images of corpses in Bucha contradict Russian claims |first=Alex |last=Hern |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/satellite-images-of-corpses-in-bucha-prove-russian-claims-wrong |url-status=live |access-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406004443/https://www.theguardian.com/world/2022/apr/05/satellite-images-of-corpses-in-bucha-prove-russian-claims-wrong |archive-date=6 April 2022}} He said that the Western media "suppressed all objective facts and evidence and disseminated blatant fakes instead" and that the report published by The Guardian proved that the Ukrainian army was responsible for the killings.{{cite web |last1= |first1= |date=23 May 2022 |title=West's media admit that civilians died in Bucha in shelling by Ukrainian troops – diplomat |url=https://tass.com/politics/1454827 |access-date=4 June 2022 |website=TASS |location= |language=English |archive-date=24 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220524232537/https://tass.com/politics/1454827 |url-status=live }}

{{External media|video1=[https://vp.nyt.com/video/2022/04/04/99814_1_4vid-bucha_wg_1080p.mp4 Satellite imagery analysis published by The New York Times]}}

Russian claims that the bodies had been "staged" by the Ukrainian side after the withdrawal of Russian troops were contradicted by satellite images from mid-March that were provided by Maxar Technologies to The New York Times. The images of Yablonska Street show at least 11 "dark objects of similar size to a human body" appearing between 9 and 11 March. They appeared in precisely the same positions as bodies later filmed by a local council member on 1 April, after Ukrainian forces had reclaimed the city. A video of the same street shows three bodies, near bicycles and abandoned cars, that first appeared between 20 and 21 March according to satellite imagery. The Times concluded, on 4 April, that "many of the civilians were killed more than three weeks ago, when Russia's military was in control of the town" and that the images refute Russian claims of the contrary.{{cite news |last1=Browne |first1=Malachy |last2=Botti |first2=David |last3=Willis |first3=Haley |date=4 April 2022 |title=Satellite images show bodies lay in Bucha for weeks, despite Russian claims. |work=The New York Times |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/world/europe/bucha-ukraine-bodies.html |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20220406060947/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/04/world/europe/bucha-ukraine-bodies.html |url-status=live }} BBC News came to the same conclusion.{{cite news |title=Bucha killings: Satellite image of bodies site contradicts Russian claims |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/60981238 |access-date=6 April 2022 |work=BBC News |date=5 April 2022 |archive-date=7 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220407203106/https://www.bbc.com/news/60981238 |url-status=live}} The satellite images also showed the first signs of excavations for a mass grave in Bucha on 10 March. By 31 March, it had been expanded into an "approximately {{convert|45|foot|m|adj=mid|-long|disp=sqbr}} trench in the southwestern section of the area near the church".{{cite news |date=4 April 2022 |title=Satellite images show long trench at Ukrainian mass grave site, Maxar says |work=Reuters |url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/satellite-images-show-45-foot-long-trench-grave-site-bucha-maxar-2022-04-03/ |access-date=4 April 2022 |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404143311/https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/satellite-images-show-45-foot-long-trench-grave-site-bucha-maxar-2022-04-03/ |url-status=live}}

The Russian Defence Ministry's Telegram channel reposted a report stating Russian forces had not targeted civilians during the battle. According to the statement, a massacre could not have been covered up by the Russian military, and the mass grave in the city was filled with victims of Ukrainian airstrikes. The ministry said it had analyzed a video purporting to show the bodies of dead civilians in Bucha, and said the corpses filmed were moving. This claim was investigated by the BBC's Moscow Department, which concluded there was no evidence the video had been staged.{{cite web |title=Questions over Russian Bucha denials |url=https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60949706 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220403132026/https://www.bbc.com/news/live/world-europe-60949706 |archive-date=3 April 2022 |access-date=3 April 2022 |work=BBC News}}

Netherlands-based investigative journalism group Bellingcat favourably cited the BBC's account and further put into question the timeline presented by Russian government sources. In particular, Bellingcat journalist and founder Eliot Higgins noted that both the Russian media outlet TV Zvezda and the secretary of the Bucha City Council Taras Shapravsky reported that Russian forces were still present in Bucha at least as late as 1 April.

Another attempt to depict the incident as a fake aired on the Russian state television channel Russia-24, using a video that the channel claimed showed Ukrainians arranging mannequins in order to "stage" the Bucha massacre. The footage was quickly identified as coming from a television set filmed in Saint Petersburg. Workers for the television show confirmed that the video was from a Russian television show.{{cite web |date=8 April 2022 |title=Fact-check: Viral video does not prove Bucha killings were staged |url=https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/04/08/fact-check-viral-mannequin-video-does-not-prove-bucha-killings-were-staged |access-date=13 April 2022 |website=euronews |language=en |archive-date=8 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220408182926/https://www.euronews.com/my-europe/2022/04/08/fact-check-viral-mannequin-video-does-not-prove-bucha-killings-were-staged |url-status=live }} Similarly, a video showing Ukrainian soldiers pulling dead bodies with cables in Bucha was widely shared by pro-Russian social media, supposedly to prove that the scene was staged. The provenance of the video is the Associated Press; its report explains that the use of cables was due to concern of the dead bodies being possibly booby-trapped.{{cite news |url=https://observers.france24.com/en/europe/20220408-fresh-round-of-fake-videos-claim-the-bucha-massacre-was-staged |first1=Aude |last1=Dejaifve |first2=Arthur |last2=Bamas |title=Fresh round of fake videos claim the Bucha massacre was staged |work=France 24 |date=6 April 2022 |accessdate=14 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=16 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220416095031/https://observers.france24.com/en/europe/20220408-fresh-round-of-fake-videos-claim-the-bucha-massacre-was-staged |url-status=live }}{{cite news |url=http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Ukraine-War-Victims/f78bea06617b455099ef6f99d572431a |title=GRAPHIC: Bodies dot streets on outskirts of Kyiv |agency=Associated Press |date=2 April 2022 |access-date=14 April 2022 |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406212316/http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/Ukraine-War-Victims/f78bea06617b455099ef6f99d572431a |url-status=live }}

President Putin and Belarusian President Lukashenko called the mass killing of civilians in Bucha "fake".{{cite news |title=Shoring up domestic propaganda, Putin describes Bucha killings as 'fake' |first=Victor |last=Jack |url=https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-and-lukashenko-slam-bucha-killings-as-fake-on-visit-to-eastern-russia/ |work=Politico |date=12 April 2022 |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=11 May 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220511232336/https://www.politico.eu/article/putin-and-lukashenko-slam-bucha-killings-as-fake-on-visit-to-eastern-russia/ |url-status=live }}

Associate professor from Lund University Tomas Sniegon, writing for The Conversation, described Russia's approach to Bucha as similar as the Soviet Union's denial of the Katyn massacre, where Soviet troops covered up the execution of thousands of Poles, insisting the massacre had been done by the Wehrmacht.{{cite web |last=Sniegon |first=Tomas |title=Russia's denial of responsibility for atrocities in Bucha recalls 50 years of lies over the Katyn massacre |url=http://theconversation.com/russias-denial-of-responsibility-for-atrocities-in-bucha-recalls-50-years-of-lies-over-the-katyn-massacre-180800 |access-date=8 April 2022 |website=The Conversation |date=6 April 2022 |language=en |archive-date=6 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220406140922/http://theconversation.com/russias-denial-of-responsibility-for-atrocities-in-bucha-recalls-50-years-of-lies-over-the-katyn-massacre-180800 |url-status=live }} Comparisons between the two events were also made by The Asahi Shimbun{{Cite web |title=Vox Populi: Horrors of Bucha echo the 1940 Soviet massacre in Katyn, Poland |url=https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14590223 |access-date=8 April 2022 |website=The Asahi Shimbun |language=en |archive-date=5 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220405033607/https://www.asahi.com/ajw/articles/14590223 |url-status=live }} and Prime Minister of Slovenia Janez Janša.{{cite web |date=4 April 2022 |title=Janša likens Bucha killings to Katyn massacre |url=https://sloveniatimes.com/jansa-likens-bucha-killings-to-katyn-massacre/ |access-date=8 April 2022 |website=Slovenia Times |archive-date=4 April 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220404214431/https://sloveniatimes.com/jansa-likens-bucha-killings-to-katyn-massacre/ |url-status=live }}

Russian journalist {{Interlanguage link|Ilya Krasilshchik|ru|Красильщик, Илья Иосифович}}, former publisher of the independent news site Meduza, was charged under Russia's 2022 war censorship laws for condemning the Russian military for the Bucha massacre.{{cite news |title=Here's who Russia has punished for speaking out against the war in Ukraine |first=Brad |last=Dress |url=https://thehill.com/policy/international/3484858-heres-who-russia-has-punished-for-speaking-out-against-the-war-in-ukraine/ |work=The Hill |date=11 May 2022 |access-date=13 August 2022 |archive-date=2 August 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220802232254/https://thehill.com/policy/international/3484858-heres-who-russia-has-punished-for-speaking-out-against-the-war-in-ukraine/ |url-status=live }} In June 2023, he was sentenced in absentia to 8 years in prison.{{cite news |title=Russian Media Publisher Sentenced to 8 Years in Absentia Over Bucha Comments |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/06/29/russian-media-publisher-sentenced-to-8-years-in-absentia-over-bucha-comments-a81695 |work=The Moscow Times |date=29 June 2023}}

Russian television presenter and singer Maxim Galkin accused the Russian authorities of hypocrisy and lies regarding war crimes committed by Russian soldiers in Bucha.{{cite news |last1=Rozovsky |first1=Liza |title=Kremlin Threatens Russian Star Comedian Who Fled to Israel |newspaper=Haaretz |url=https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/2022-09-08/ty-article/.premium/kremlin-threatens-comedian-who-fled-to-israel-and-left/00000183-1997-d6f3-a7ff-f9f70bd00000 |publisher=Haaretz.com |date=8 September 2022 |access-date=9 January 2023 |archive-date=9 January 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230109143211/https://www.haaretz.com/world-news/2022-09-08/ty-article/.premium/kremlin-threatens-comedian-who-fled-to-israel-and-left/00000183-1997-d6f3-a7ff-f9f70bd00000 |url-status=live }}

On 9 December 2022, a Moscow court sentenced Russian opposition politician Ilya Yashin to eight years and six months imprisonment for his statements about the circumstances of the killings in Bucha, on charges of "spreading false information" about the armed forces.{{Citation | vauthors=((Hopkins, V.)) | date=December 9, 2022 | website=New York Times | title=Russia Finds a War Critic Guilty of 'Spreading False Information' | url=https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/world/europe/russia-ilya-yashin-court.html | access-date=4 January 2023 | archive-date=4 January 2023 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230104090245/https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/09/world/europe/russia-ilya-yashin-court.html | url-status=live }} Yashin condemned the killings and said that Russian forces in Ukraine were responsible for the massacre. His punishment was the harshest given under the new laws that criminalize spreading "false" information about the armed forces.{{cite web|url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/12/09/kremlin-critic-yashin-given-85-years-in-jail-for-bucha-massacre-claims-a79652|title=Kremlin Critic Yashin Given 8.5 Years in Jail for Bucha Massacre Claims|website=The Moscow Times|date=9 December 2022|access-date=4 January 2023|archive-date=28 December 2022|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221228190433/https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2022/12/09/kremlin-critic-yashin-given-85-years-in-jail-for-bucha-massacre-claims-a79652|url-status=live}}

Russian authorities opened a criminal case against Russian-American journalist Masha Gessen on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian army's actions in Ukraine.{{cite news |title=Russia Puts Prominent Russian-American Journalist on Wanted List |url=https://www.voanews.com/a/russia-puts-prominent-russian-american-journalist-on-wanted-list-/7391630.html |work=VOA News |date=9 December 2023}} Gessen was accused of spreading "false information" after talking about the Bucha massacre during an interview with Russian journalist Yury Dud.{{cite news |title=Russia Opens Criminal Case Against Journalist Masha Gessen Over Ukraine War ‘Fake News' |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2023/11/23/russia-opens-criminal-case-against-journalist-masha-gessen-over-ukraine-war-fake-news-a83198 |work=The Moscow Times |date=23 November 2023}}

On 6 March 2024, Russian journalist Roman Ivanov was sentenced to 7 years in prison for social media posts about the Bucha massacre and other war crimes of the Russian army.{{cite news |title=“Our country turned into an avalanche of grief.” The closing court statement of journalist Roman Ivanov, sentenced to 7 years for anti‑war posts |url=https://en.zona.media/article/2024/03/07/ivanov |work=Mediazona |date=7 March 2024}} In April 2024, Forbes Russia journalist Sergey Mingazov was arrested for "reposting a publication about the events in Bucha" on Telegram.{{cite news |title=Forbes journalist placed under house arrest for allegedly spreading fake news about Russian army |url=https://edition.cnn.com/2024/04/27/europe/forbes-journalist-house-arrest-russia-fake-news-intl/index.html |work=CNN |date=27 April 2024}}

On 5 June 2024, the Ostankinsky District Court sentenced Russian streamer Anna Bazhutova to five and a half years in prison on charges of spreading "false information" about the Russian military. Bazhutova made a live stream on Twitch that included testimonies of the massacre and residents back in April 2022.{{Cite web |date=2024-06-05 |title=Russian Twitch Streamer Jailed 5.5 Years for Bucha Testimonies |url=https://www.themoscowtimes.com/2024/06/05/russian-twitch-streamer-jailed-55-years-for-bucha-testimonies-a85326 |access-date=2024-06-08 |website=The Moscow Times |language=en}}{{Cite news |last=Chalk |first=Andy |date=2024-06-05 |title=Russian Twitch streamer sentenced to more than 5 years in prison for criticizing the invasion of Ukraine |url=https://www.pcgamer.com/gaming-industry/russian-twitch-streamer-sentenced-to-more-than-5-years-in-prison-for-criticizing-the-invasion-of-ukraine/ |access-date=2024-06-09 |language=en |agency=PC Gamer}}{{Cite news |date=2024-06-05 |title=Russian Internet Streamer Jailed For War Reports |url=https://www.rferl.org/a/russian-streamer-sentenced-war-reports/32980392.html |access-date=2024-06-08 |language=en |agency=Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty}}

File:Z shirt black.jpg that reads "I'm not ashamed" ({{Langx|ru|#мненестыдно|lit=}})]]

An analysis of three Russian nationalist Telegram channels, with tens of thousands of subscribers responding to the news of the massacre, reported that 144 comments – almost half – of those made within the first 48 hours demanded that Russian forces act even more violently. Many of the comments included ethnically motivated calls for violence against Ukrainians, many of them advocating genocide. According to the study, "messages combined religious references with extreme homophobia, overt racism, calls for violence, and descriptions of the Ukrainian other as diseased". Between the time when the news of the massacre broke and late April, the comments in the nationalist Telegram channels became even more extreme in their calls for more sadistic violence from Russian troops, including exhortations to mass rape, prostituting of Ukrainian POWs, and mass murder. Popular Odesa-born Russian "activist-journalist", and moderator of one of the channels, Yuliya Vityazeva, compared Ukrainian defenders of Mariupol to "cockroaches" and stated that gassing them was unnecessary since there were "simpler and cheaper" ways to murder them, a type of comment that resembled narratives observed in the run up to the Rwandan genocide.{{Cite journal |last=Garner |first=Ian |date=2022 |title='We've Got to Kill Them': Responses to Bucha on Russian Social Media Groups |url=https://doi.org/10.1080/14623528.2022.2074020 |journal=Journal of Genocide Research |pages=1–8 |doi=10.1080/14623528.2022.2074020 |s2cid=248680376 |access-date=12 May 2022 |archive-date=4 February 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230204025409/https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/14623528.2022.2074020 |url-status=live |doi-access=free |issn = 1462-3528 }}

The Telegram channels have also been used to sell t-shirts with the letters "V" and "Z" and the slogan "Slaughter in Bucha: We Can Do It Again."

{{Portal|Ukraine|Russia}}

• Babi Yar
• Allegations of genocide of Ukrainians in the Russo-Ukrainian War
• Izium mass graves
• List of massacres in Ukraine
• Novye Aldi massacre
• Sexual violence in the Russian invasion of Ukraine (2022–present)
• State terrorism

{{reflist|group=note}}

{{Reflist}}

{{refbegin|30em}}

• {{Citation | vauthors=((Froliak, M.)), ((Al-Hlou, Y.)), ((Willis, H.)), ((Aufrichtig, A.)), ((Lieberman, R.)) | date=December 21, 2022 |website=New York Times | title=Their Final Moments: Victims of a Russian Atrocity in Bucha | url=https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2022/12/21/world/europe/bucha-ukraine-massacre-victims.html | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |vauthors=((Kinetz, E.)), ((Stashevskyi, O.)), ((Stepanenko, V.)) |website=Associated Press | date=November 3, 2022 | title=How Russian soldiers ran a "cleansing" operation in Bucha | url=https://apnews.com/article/bucha-ukraine-war-cleansing-investigation-43e5a9538e9ba68a035756b05028b8b4 | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |vauthors=((Korniychuk, Y)), ((Loginova, E.)), ((Lyubchych, Y.)), ((Wallace, J.)), ((Sarnecki, M.)) |website=Organized Crime & Corruption Reporting Project | date=31 August 2022 | title=Explore: Telegram chats from a group of neighbors in Russian-occupied Bucha give insight into life in wartime Ukraine | url=https://cdn.occrp.org/projects/the-banality-of-brutality/ | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |website=CBS News |vauthors=((Pelley, S.)) |date=October 16, 2022 | title=The stories of the victims found in a mass grave in Bucha, Ukraine | url=https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ukraine-russia-bucha-civilians-60-minutes-2022-10-16/ | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation | website=Reuters | vauthors=((Pullella, P.)) | date=April 6, 2022 | title=Pope kisses Ukrainian flag, condemns "the massacre of Bucha" | url=https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/pope-holding-ukrainian-flag-condemns-atrocities-such-massacre-bucha-2022-04-06/ | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |website=Time Magazine | vauthors=((Shuster, S.)) | date=April 13, 2022 | title=The Crime Scene Left Behind at a Summer Camp in Bucha | url=https://time.com/6166681/bucha-massacre-ukraine-dispatch/ | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |vauthors=((Human Rights Watch)) | website=Human Rights Watch | date=April 21, 2022 | title=Ukraine: Russian Forces' Trail of Death in Bucha | url=https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/21/ukraine-russian-forces-trail-death-bucha | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |vauthors=((United Nations)) |website=UN News |publisher=United Nations | date=3 April 2022 | title=Ukraine: Secretary-General calls for probe into Bucha killings | url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115442 | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |vauthors=((United Nations)) |website=UN News |publisher=United Nations | date=4 April 2022 | title=Bucha killings raise 'serious' questions about possible war crimes | url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/04/1115482 | access-date=24 December 2022}}
• {{Citation |vauthors=((United Nations)) |website=UN News |publisher=United Nations | date=23 September 2022 | title=War crimes have been committed in Ukraine conflict, top UN human rights inquiry reveals | url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2022/09/1127691 | access-date=24 December 2022}}

{{refend}}

• {{Commons category-inline}}
• Video: [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IrGZ66uKcl0 Exposing the Russian Military Unit Behind a Massacre in Bucha | Visual Investigations by The New York Times]
• {{cite episode|title=Crime Scene: Bucha|series=Frontline|series-link=Frontline (American TV program)|network=PBS|station=WGBH|season=40|number=17|date=December 6, 2022|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/crime-scene-bucha/|access-date=November 28, 2024}}

{{2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine}}

{{Coord|50|32|55|N|30|13|15|E|type:city(37,000)_region:UA-32|display=title}}

Category:21st-century mass murder in Ukraine

Bucha

Category:Genocide and the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Category:Articles containing video clips

Category:Bucha Raion

Category:March 2022 crimes in Europe

Category:March 2022 in Ukraine

Category:Massacres committed by Russia

Category:Massacres in 2022

Category:Massacres in Ukraine

Category:Massacres of Ukrainians

Category:War crimes during the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Category:Torture in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Category:Kyiv Oblast in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Category:Sexual violence in the Russian invasion of Ukraine

Category:Bucha, Ukraine