During the occupation, a unit of the Vityaz Rosguard, the 76th Parachute Division from Pskov, and the military from Chechnya operated in Bucha.
This is stated in the Reuters investigation.
In three weeks, journalists interviewed more than 90 locals in the city, examined photos and videos provided by them, as well as documents left by the Russians in Bucha.
The presence in the city of the 76th Parachute Division from Pskov is indicated by a love letter found by a local man in his house after returning to the city. It was addressed to a soldier named Oleksandr Logvinenko, who was later identified by journalists as a paratrooper from Pskov.
In addition, the neighboring house, according to a local resident, was occupied by the same group of Russian soldiers. On the wall of the house someone wrote "Wolf_68" with a spray can. Journalists found out that Russian Kirill Kryuchkov subscribes to this on social networks. He served in the 234th Assault Regiment, which is part of the 76th Guards Assault Division.
Journalists also found that Chechen troops were present in Hostomel, Borodianka and Lubianka, settlements in the Kyiv Oblast near Bucha.
Eyewitnesses told the agency that Chechen militants were operating in Bucha. For example, Volodymyr Abramov, a resident of the city, told reporters that he saw Chechen troops leading their column to the city on March 4. The next day, March 5, he said, Chechen soldiers knocked on his door. He was at home with relatives.
The Chechens ordered Abramov, his daughter Iryna and her husband Oleh to go outside with their hands up. One of the soldiers repeatedly asked Iryna where, according to her, the "Nazis" were hiding, after which they set fire to their house.
While Iryna was interrogated, other soldiers ordered her husband to take off his shirt. They took him outside, forced him to his knees, and shot him in the temple. When Russian troops retreated in late March, Olehʼs body was found on Yablunska Street.
As for the Vityaz Regiment, its presence in Bucha was indicated by a certificate issued to Corporal Konstantin Vladimirovich Korshunov.
- In Bucha, Russian troops deliberately tortured and killed civilians. Ukraine already has a list of Russian servicemen who have done so. Russia has traditionally denied everything, although journalists and international investigators have denied all allegations by Russia.
- In late April, the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office said they had identified the first 10 Russian servicemen involved in the torture of Bucha residents.