Russian invaders are now treating the whole Ukrainian population as combatants, as dirt to be cleansed
On the morning of March 4, a teacher was sheltering in a basement in Bucha, an old railroad stop northwest of Kyiv that over the centuries had grown into a verdant suburb. The town lay along the Russian military’s intended path of conquest, leading into the Ukrainian capital. And while the invaders struggled to realize their overarching plan, they gained a toehold in Bucha.
At 7 a.m., the teacher, huddled alone with her two dogs, heard a Russian voice threatening to throw a grenade into her hiding place, according to an account she later gave to Human Rights Watch. Rather than risk that fate, she emerged. Along with several dozen other Ukrainians, she found herself hustled into a small square, next to the office of a storage-rental firm. The crowd watched as the Russians brought five men into the square and ordered them to remove their jackets and boots, then instructed them to kneel. Standing behind them, the Russians yanked the men’s T-shirts over their heads, using their own clothing as an executioner’s sack. One of the Russians assured his audience, according to the teacher’s account: “Don’t worry. You are all normal—and this is dirt. We are here to cleanse you from the dirt.”
By the time the Ukrainians liberated Bucha on April 2, the streets were strewn with Russian atrocities. When reporters entered the city, they found corpses on toppled bicycles, one of them still clutching a bag of potatoes. Shirtless bodies lay facedown on the asphalt, arms tied behind backs with scraps of white cloth. Hands and feet protruded from the red clay not quite covering a mass grave. In total, Bucha’s mayor estimated to Reuters, the Russians had killed more than 300 of the town’s citizens. [Continue reading…]