+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

Putin doesn't want you to believe these photos. They show weeping Bucha residents seeing the bodies of their loved ones pulled from yet another mass grave

Apr 9, 2022, 03:29 IST
Business Insider
A team pulls a body from a mass grave in Bucha, Ukraine.Erin Trieb for Insider
  • Bodies were removed from a newly-discovered mass grave in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine.
  • They were then placed in rows and numbered, as several dozen Bucha residents looked on.
Advertisement

Editor's Note: Readers may find some of the images below disturbing.

BUCHA, UKRAINE — Another mass grave had been discovered in Bucha, a suburb of the capital Kyiv.

On Friday, representatives from the Ukrainian government, including prosecutors investigating war crimes, arrived at the site near the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints. Bodies were pulled from a ditch and lined up in rows, and then numbered. Body bags were unzipped so that the dead could be examined and an initial identification could be made.

A few hours into the process, several dozen local residents arrived. They walked slowly through the gates of the church.

As they made their way toward the mass grave, many seemed to look away from what was in front of them. Then the weeping began, as people took in the bodies of loved ones.

Advertisement

A few hours into the process, several dozen local residents arrivedErin Trieb for Insider

Bucha, a town of around 35,000 people that's 23 miles northwest of Kyiv, Ukraine's capital, had been occupied for several weeks by Russian soldiers. Russia's Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has claimed that the bodies were "staged" in Bucha after Russian forces withdrew from the town.

But Russia's assertion has been contradicted by mounting evidence of the horror that unfolded in this town.

An analysis of satellite images by the New York Times found that bodies, some of them bound, had appeared around Bucha well before Russian forces withdrew. Ukrainian officials and human rights organizations say they are investigating killings in Bucha as possible war crimes.

Witnesses of the exhumations in Bucha, Ukraine.Erin Trieb for Insider
A woman witnesses bodies being processed from a mass grave in Bucha, Ukraine.Erin Treib for Insider
People sit close to where another mass grave was discovered in Bucha, Ukraine.Erin Treib for Insider

Last weekend, satellite images showed the 45-foot-long trench where bodies were later discovered, Reuters reported. As journalists arrived in Bucha, photos quickly circulated of dead bodies strewn by the sides of streets, outside homes, and in backyards.

At the site of the mass grave, gloved hands and boots were seen poking out of the earth. It was later discovered that even more bodies lay below.

Advertisement
Ukrainian government officials, military, and prosecutors investigating war crimes were among those at the site.Erin Trieb for Insider
The site of the mass grave.Erin Trieb for Insider
Bodies were carried from the ditch to be examined and identified.Erin Trieb for Insider
A full accounting of Bucha's dead has not yet been made.Erin Trieb for Insider
Workers moved quickly to process the bodies.Erin Trieb for Insider
The dead were placed in rows and numbered.Erin Trieb for Insider
Bodies were laid out near the site of the mass grave.Erin Trieb for Insider
You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article