Murders and torture of civilians in Bucha. Four Russian military personnel to stand trial, six more suspected

Prosecutors have referred to court the cases of four Russian servicemen accused of shooting civilians in Bucha, Kyiv region. Six more have been declared suspects.

This was reported by the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office.

These are military personnel who fought in various units of the 234th Airborne Assault Regiment of the 76th Airborne Assault Division of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Armed Forces.

As the investigation found, in March 2022, they shot civilians they saw on the streets of Bucha, and also committed crimes against patriotic citizens.

The Russians were charged with violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with intentional murder, as well as cruel treatment of the civilian population (Parts 1, 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

Prosecutors also identified and charged six more Russian servicemen involved in the shootings under the same articles. In March 2022, a gunner from a paratrooper platoon, patrolling a street in Bucha, shot and killed two local residents who were cooking food on a bonfire. Another Russian serviceman, together with his colleagues, wounded two civilian men while on the territory of one of the schools and shot and killed a woman who was going down the stairs to the basement.

The investigation also identified Russian military personnel who interrogated civilians, demanding information about the locations of Defense Forces units. People were threatened with weapons and torture, simulated gunshots, and beaten.

• Advancing on Kyiv at the start of a full-scale invasion in 2022, Russian forces attempted to control Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel in order to encircle and besiege Kyiv from the west. The Ukrainian Armed Forces regained control of Bucha on March 31, 2022.
• In total, during the occupation, Russian invaders committed over 9 000 war crimes and killed over 1 700 civilians in the Bucha area of the Kyiv region.

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