According to the Bucha city council, the officer, Artyom Tareyev, ordered his troops to kill any civilians near Yablunska and Vodoprovidna streets on March 5, 2022.
This, the council said, resulted in the deaths of 13 civilians, including local resident Iryna Filkina. A photograph of her lifeless, dirt-covered hand, with the striking red nail polish on her fingernails still intact, went viral, symbolizing the brutality inflicted on the town.
Bucha became synonymous with Russian war crimes after its liberation on March 31, 2022. Ukrainian police discovered 422 civilian bodies, many showing signs of torture, with the victims’ bound hands and gunshot wounds indicating close-range executions. Across the Bucha region, 1,190 bodies were recovered, and many residents remain missing.
Investigations by Ukrainian police, supported by international organizations like Human Rights Watch and the International Criminal Court (ICC), have documented widespread atrocities.
Witness testimonies and physical evidence suggest that Russian soldiers committed systematic war crimes including executions and sexual violence. Survivors recounted cases of rape targeting women and girls aged 14 to 24.
Reports highlight that the Russian forces shot civilians indiscriminately, including those wearing the white armbands mandated by occupying forces. Evidence also reveals that civilians were fired upon from tanks and armored personnel carriers.
German intelligence intercepts confirmed that these cases were not isolated but part of a deliberate strategy by Russian forces.
The International Criminal Court has opened investigations into the atrocities, with Bucha now a focal point in Ukraine’s pursuit of justice for war crimes.
