Satellite images reveal that the massacre in Bucha is real, and a New York Times analysis refutes Russia’s claims that civilians were killed in Bucha, a suburb Kyiv It happened following her soldiers left town.
According to the analysis, when, at the end of the week, pictures of civilian bodies began to emerge on the streets of Bucha, some with handcuffs and some with gunshot wounds to the head, the Russian Defense Ministry denied responsibility.
In a Telegram post on Sunday, the ministry suggested that the bodies had recently been laid out in the streets following “all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha” around March 30. Russia also claimed that the photos were “another hoax” and called for an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council on what it called “the provocations of Ukrainian radicals” in Bucha.
But a review of videos and satellite imagery by the New York Times shows that many civilians were killed more than three weeks ago, when the Russian army was in control of the city. A video clip filmed by a local council member on 2 April shows multiple bodies scattered along Jablonska Street in Bucha. Satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies to the newspaper also show that at least 11 bodies have been on the streets since March 11, when Russia occupied the city.
To confirm when the bodies appeared and when the victims were likely to be killed, the newspaper’s visual investigation team conducted a before-and-following analysis of the satellite imagery.
The images show dark objects of similar size to a human body on Jablonska Street between March 9 and March 11. Objects also show the exact locations where the bodies were found following the recovery of Bucha by Ukrainian forces and further analysis shows that the bodies remained in this position for more than three weeks, but the causes of death are unclear.
Some bodies were next to what appeared to be a deep pit. Others were near abandoned cars. Three bodies were placed next to bicycles.
Some have white cloths tied behind their backs, and the victims are scattered over a half-mile stretch of Jablonska Street.
Another video, taken on Yablonska Street, shows three more bodies. One is next to a bicycle, and another is near an abandoned car.
Satellite images showed that abandoned cars and the corpse nearby appeared between March 20 and 21.
According to the report, these are just some of the civilian casualties that were discovered since Saturday. The Associated Press published photos of at least six bodies lying together in the back of an office building, some with their hands tied behind their backs. The building is located one mile west of the other victims found along Jbulinska Street.
Another mile away, a photojournalist from the newspaper discovered the body of a man with a gunshot wound to the head lying next to a bicycle.
