The Russian soldiers who terrorized a street in Bucha in March, killing dozens of civilians, have been clearly identified after an eight-month investigation. The massacre in Bucha, a town just outside Kiev, was part of a deliberate and systematic attempt to forcefully clear a route to the capital, the investigation concluded. An international lawyer told Express.co.uk the evidence was “really quite extraordinary” and “points to the guilt of specific individuals, including specific commanders”.
As part of the investigation, New York Times journalists collected CCTV footage, government records and interviewed residents in Bucha to get a clear picture of what was happening there.
One of the most shocking discoveries was that soldiers often used their dead victims’ phones to call home Russiajust hours after the murders.
In April, the world watched in horror at the devastation left in Bucha as photos of corpses with their arms tied up circulated on the internet. Meanwhile, Vladimir Putin described it as a “provocation” by Ukraine.
The investigation revealed that the Russians responsible belonged specifically to the 234th Air Assault regiment, led by Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Gorodilov.
The evidence linking Gorodilov to the incident includes telephone records and call signs used by the leadership that were picked up on Russian radio stations, as well as thousands of hours of video footage.
READ MORE: Serpent serial killer who murdered 20 people released from prison for ‘good behavior’
Investigators also searched a database of all calls and messages posted around Bucha in March. They then spoke to the relatives of the massacred civilians and asked for the victims’ phone numbers and compared the numbers against the database.
This allowed them to see that some numbers were used by Russians to call home after the victims were killed.
James Goldston, the executive director of the Open Society Justice Initiative and former coordinator of prosecutions in the International Criminal Court’s Prosecutor’s Office, told Express.co.uk: “I mean, it’s really quite extraordinary what has been gathered about a horrific series of crimes by individuals.
“We’ve seen detectives spend months combing crime scenes in Ukraine for evidence. This is truly an extraordinary collection of very powerful evidence pointing to the guilt of specific individuals, including specific commanders.”
NOT MISSING:
Other evidence tying the Russian paratroopers to the massacre was security camera footage around Yablunska Street, where many of the executions took place.
In the footage, radio chatter made it clear that Lieutenant Colonel Gorodilov was in command.
Two soldiers from the 234th even admitted in interviews that Gorodilov led troops in the area.
After the Russians were pushed back from the Kiev Oblast region, Lieutenant Colonel Gorodilov received a promotion to Colonel.
WARNING: GRAPHICS BELOW
According to Mr. Goldston, Gorodilov and others in charge of the paratroopers, including Major General Surgey Chubarykin and General Serduyukov, and even Putin must be held responsible for the actions of the 234th.
He explained: “Under international humanitarian law, commanders can be just as responsible even if they themselves have not drawn a gun or launched a piece of artillery.
“If they know or should or have reason to know that crimes are being committed by those who report to them and do nothing to stop it, they could be found guilty under international law.”
“All the crimes discovered in Bucha and so many others committed by Russian perpetrators have happened in the aftermath of the first crime of aggression for which the Russian leadership must be held accountable.
“We are working very hard to see that happen.”
Mr Goldston added: “We know that the International Court of Justice is investigating crimes in Ukraine. We know that the National Prosecutor of Ukraine is investigating and I would be very surprised if those prosecutors were not very interested in this material and did not use it with other evidence they collect to build cases for the guilt of specific perpetrators.”
At present, neither General Serdyukov, commander of the Russian airborne forces, nor Gorodilov, nor Chubarykin – Gorodilov’s senior – have said publicly that they will investigate any of the war crimes committed at Bucha.
The New York Times contacted the Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Embassy in Washington and Colonel Gorodilov about their investigation. None of them responded to a request for comment.