On 4 March, around seven in the morning, what Kiev now defines as ‘an apocalypse’ had already arrived in Bucha, 30 kilometers north-west of Kiev. It came in the guise of Russian soldiers who surveyed an entire neighborhood: house after house they forced residents to leave their homes, under the threat of grenades. Fear ran, amplified by the sound of broken glass in doors and windows, gestures that seemed intended as a foreshadowing of violence. And in fact not much later about 40 people left standing in the cold for hours, after being gathered in a square, were in front of a young man made to kneel on the side of the road, his face covered with his own shirt, killed with a gunshot to the back of the head. An execution. Four others lined up as if to await a similar and inevitable fate. Five days later, the young man’s lifeless body still lay in the same place. The testimony is from a teacher who recounted the episode in grisly detail to Human Rights Watch. The NGO has collected several similar reports. “The cases we have documented show unspeakable deliberate cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians,” underlined Hugh Williamson, HRW director for Europe and Central Asia, “rape, murder and other violence perpetrated on persons in the hands of Russian forces must be subject to war crimes investigations, “he added. Human Rights Watch interviewed 10 people, including witnesses, victims and residents of areas occupied by Russian forces. The conversations took place both in person and over the phone and many asked to be identified only by their first name or a pseudonym. Dmytro, 40, recounted his and his family’s escape from Bucha, now the merchandise of heavy bombing. They set out on foot on 7 March, not being aware of humanitarian corridors. Wrapped in white sheets and waving white handkerchiefs, they arrived in the nearby village of Vorzel where for two nights they took refuge in the basement of a two-story building. It is there that they experienced the insane violence and the terror it unleashes. In that basement there was also a woman wounded in the legs and chest: she had been wounded the day before when Russian soldiers broke into the shelter and threw a tear gas grenade. A death trap: in panic, many ran out of the basement and became easy targets of the Russian soldiers waiting outside. And that’s when the woman was injured, while according to those present and saved, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the head and died. Dmytro concluded his story by revealing that the same woman died on March 8. He himself, along with other local residents, buried her not far from the shelter. “Russia has an obligation under international law to impartially investigate alleged crimes committed by its soldiers”, he stressed, “commanders must recognize that failure to take action against killing or rape can make them personally responsible for war crimes” . panicked, many ran out of the basement and became an easy target for the Russian soldiers waiting outside. And that’s when the woman was injured, while according to those present and saved, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the head and died. Dmytro concluded his story by revealing that the same woman died on March 8. He himself, along with other local residents, buried her not far from the shelter. “Russia has an obligation under international law to impartially investigate alleged crimes committed by its soldiers”, he stressed, “commanders must recognize that failure to take action against killing or rape can make them personally responsible for war crimes” . panicked, many ran out of the basement and became an easy target for the Russian soldiers waiting outside. And that’s when the woman was injured, while according to those present and saved, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the head and died. Dmytro concluded his story by revealing that the same woman died on March 8. He himself, along with other local residents, buried her not far from the shelter. “Russia has an obligation under international law to impartially investigate alleged crimes committed by its soldiers”, he stressed, “commanders must recognize that failure to take action against killing or rape can make them personally responsible for war crimes” . they ran out of the basement and became an easy target for the Russian soldiers waiting outside. And that’s when the woman was injured, while according to those present and saved, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the head and died. Dmytro concluded his story by revealing that the same woman died on March 8. He himself, along with other local residents, buried her not far from the shelter. “Russia has an obligation under international law to impartially investigate alleged crimes committed by its soldiers”, he stressed, “commanders must recognize that failure to take action against killing or rape can make them personally responsible for war crimes” . they ran out of the basement and became an easy target for the Russian soldiers waiting outside. And that’s when the woman was injured, while according to those present and saved, a 14-year-old boy was shot in the head and died. Dmytro concluded his story by revealing that the same woman died on March 8. He himself, along with other local residents, buried her not far from the shelter. “Russia has an obligation under international law to impartially investigate alleged crimes committed by its soldiers”, he stressed, “commanders must recognize that failure to take action against killing or rape can make them personally responsible for war crimes” .REPRODUCTION RESERVED © Copyright ANSA
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