DISINFO: Bucha massacre was orchestrated by Ukrainian forces
SUMMARY
Bucha was orchestrated by Kyiv to discredit the Russian army later presented by Western media as the "Bucha massacre". Ukraine accused Russian troops of massacring and retaliating against civilians in the city.
The dead bodies depicted in the photos and videos are very real. "The Bucha Massacre" is rendered a farce by the events leading up to its "unveiling" which have been almost completely ignored by Western media.
After the departure of Russian soldiers from Bucha, a gesture of goodwill from Moscow, the mayor of Bucha published a video speaking in a cheerful voice, welcoming the withdrawal of troops, but does not mention the alleged "atrocities".
Bucha was then subjected to massive and indiscriminate shelling by Ukrainian artillery. According to military correspondents, the Ukrainian military simply did not notice the withdrawal of Russian troops and continued to shell the city.
The Ukrainian authorities have not provided detailed and verified forensic reports revealing the dates and causes of civilian deaths. Nevertheless, there were claims that civilians had died from wounds caused by darts.
This type of shell has been used by the Ukrainian forces against the population of Donbass for several years, which suggests that the bombardment of Bucha with this type of ammunition would not have been unusual.
RESPONSE
Recurrent denial of war crimes committed by Russian forces during the full-scale military invasion of Ukraine and denial of military retreat by an alleged “gesture of goodwill”.
The retreat of Russian forces took place because they were losing the battle for Kyiv. They needed massive reinforcements to take the capital that were not available. However, the Kremlin presented this as a “gesture of goodwill” to favour negotiations in Istanbul.
It is grossly incorrect to say that no details were released on the victims. In December 2022 an investigation based on videos and telephone metadata of civilian devices stolen by Russian soldiers established the responsibility of a Russian regiment — and its commander — for the death of several dozens of civilians from Bucha.
It is equally incorrect to quote the videos of the Mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk, when denying the war crimes. Fedoruk had publicly commented on the violence before the Russian troops left in an interview with Italian news agency Adnkronos on March 28, where he accused them of killings and rapes in Bucha.
In an AP interview on March 7, Fedoruk talked about dead bodies piling up in Bucha: “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. It’s a nightmare.”
Satellite images by Maxar Technologies from when Russian troops occupied Bucha on March 18 and 19 back up Fedoruk’s account of bodies in the streets, showing at least five bodies on one road.
It is incorrect to quote the Guardian stating that Ukrainian artillery killed civilians with the use of small arrows after the so-called “gesture of goodwill”. On the contrary, the article points to Russian artillery based on several testimonies.
The EU stands in full solidarity with Ukraine as formulated in this statement by Commission President von der Leyen during which she talks about how Russia must be held accountable for the horrific crimes in Bucha and elsewhere.
Read also related cases: Bucha massacre was carried out by Ukrainian artillery, a French witness proved that the crimes in Bucha were organised by Ukraine, Kyiv created a new "Bucha" in the Kharkiv region, Alleged “mass graves” found in Izium are a Bucha-like provocation of Ukraine, Ukraine is preparing a provocation at Zaporizhzhia similar to the one in Bucha, Bucha is a fabrication only used to interrupt negotiations, Accusations about Bucha are as false as claims that Russia bombed a maternity hospital in Mariupol, Western media have decided that Russia is guilty in Bucha despite the lack of evidence.
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