There was no sign of the column’s soldiers. In a video showing the destruction, a man could be heard muttering: “I wish you all to burn in hell.”
But that Ukrainian victory was to be short-lived; a month-long occupation of Bucha by Russian forces followed.
In recent days, Moscow has claimed — without evidence — that the atrocities in Bucha were staged — calling it “fake,” and part of a “planned media campaign.”
But witnesses who spoke to CNN said the carnage in the town began weeks ago.
And the devastation there bears similarities to Russia’s playbook in other towns and cities in Ukraine, where officials say civilian infrastructure has come under attack — with power supplies knocked out, water cut off and communications towers damaged — making it harder for local residents to hold out against Russian troops. But Ukraine has not surrendered.
There have also been reports of looting, disappearances, and evidence of the indiscriminate killings of civilians since the war began.
Horrors on the road
Bucha — once a magnet for young families due to its affordable homes, green spaces, and good schools — and other areas nearby, turned into a living nightmare in March as Russian troops stormed the region.
Residents there share difficult to verify stories of looted homes, senseless murders and failed escapes via Kyiv’s Zhytomyr highway — now a graveyard for wrecked tanks and burned-out cars.
In Bucha, pitch-roofed homes crumbled under the force of Russian artillery strikes.
Residents say they had no choice but to turn their vegetable patches and front yards into makeshift graves, since the presence of Russian forces made it impossible to reach the morgue or local cemetery.
Anna Bilous, 48, had lived in Bucha for eight years before the Russian troops arrived. She sheltered in her home with her husband and two sons, but around March 4, when the electricity cut out and the pipes ran dry, it became clear they had to leave, she told CNN.
They decided that Bilous and her two…
Source : cnn
