Ukraine's foreign minister: Mass killings in Bucha 'the tip of the iceberg'
Images out of Bucha, Ukraine, showing streets lined with the dead bodies of civilians have stunned the world, and Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Monday this is just the "tip of the iceberg."
Ukrainian troops discovered the bodies in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, over the weekend, after Russian troops pulled back from the city. While Russia's Ministry of Defense claimed the bodies were "a hoax" and placed in the streets after the withdrawal, satellite imagery shows that many of the bodies were there more than three weeks ago, when Russia occupied the city, The New York Times reports.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky traveled to Bucha on Monday, and said he wanted the press to show "the world what happened here. What the Russian military did. What the Russian Federation did in peaceful Ukraine. It was important for you to see that these were civilians." He accused Russia of committing "genocide" and "war crimes," and said there were bodies "found in barrels, basements, strangled, tortured."
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Late Monday, Zelensky said Ukrainian officials have "information" indicating mass killings took place in other Kyiv suburbs, including Borodyanka, about 15 miles west of Bucha. Borodyanka is no longer under Russian control, and Ukraine's prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, said the carnage there is higher than elsewhere. "In terms of human casualties, the worst situation is in Borodyanka," she said, according to the Kyiv Independent. "There's a lot to process."
Earlier Monday, Kuleba spoke in Warsaw about the situation in Mariupol, the port city that has been surrounded by Russian troops for weeks. Residents there continue to live without electricity, clean water, or enough food and medicine, and local officials say the constant shelling by Russian forces has killed so many civilians that they have been forced to bury them in mass graves.
"I can tell you without exaggeration but with great sorrow that the situation in Mariupol is much worse compared to what we've seen in Bucha and other towns and villages nearby Kyiv," Kuleba said. He demanded world leaders impose the "most severe sanctions this week" against Russia, adding, "this is the plea of the victims of the rapes and killings. If you have doubts about sanctions, go to Bucha first."
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The potential impact of Trump tariffs for the UK
UK goods exports to the US could be hit with tariffs of up to 20% seriously affecting the British economy
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
Shoot to Kill: Terror on the Tube – a 'raw' and 'riveting' docuseries
The Week Recommends Channel 4's 'gripping' two-part show explores the Metropolitan police killing of an innocent man in the aftermath of 7/7
By Irenie Forshaw, The Week UK Published
-
'Salute to those who served'
Today's Newspapers A roundup of the headlines from the US front pages
By The Week Staff Published
-
Incendiary device plot: Russia's 'rehearsals' for attacks on transatlantic flights
The Explainer Security officials warn of widespread Moscow-backed 'sabotage campaign' in retaliation for continued Western support for Ukraine
By The Week UK Published
-
The North Korean troops readying for deployment in Ukraine
The Explainer Third country wading into conflict would be 'the first step to a world war' Volodymyr Zelenskyy has warned
By The Week UK Published
-
Experts call for a Nato bank to 'Trump-proof' military spending
Under The Radar A new lender could aid co-operation and save millions of pounds, say think tanks
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
What happens if Russia declares war on Nato?
Today's Big Question Fears are growing after Vladimir Putin's 'unusually specific warning' to Western governments
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
Missile escalation: will long-range rockets make a difference to Ukraine?
Today's Big Question Kyiv is hoping for permission to use US missiles to strike deep into Russian territory
By Richard Windsor, The Week UK Published
-
Atesh: the Ukrainian partisans taking on Russia
Under The Radar Underground resistance fighters are risking their lives to defend their country
By Elizabeth Carr-Ellis, The Week UK Published
-
'Second only to a nuclear bomb' – the controversial arms Russia is using in Ukraine
The Explainer Thermobaric bombs 'capable of vaporising human bodies' have been used against Ukraine
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The peaceful archipelago that may take up arms
Under The Radar Russia's invasion of Ukraine has left the Åland Islands 'peculiarly vulnerable'
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published