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Attacks on civilians in Ukraine: systematic atrocities

2022-04-08T14:03:35.382Z


Destroyed houses, many dead, traumatized survivors: the Russian army has left Kyiv with a horror. Independent observers believe that Putin is deliberately attacking the civilian population - with a clear goal.


AreaRead the video transcript expand here

Borodjanka near Kyiv after the heavy Russian attacks.

Putin's army has withdrawn somewhat from the region around the capital, concentrating more on southern and eastern Ukraine.

Now it is becoming increasingly clear what horrors they leave behind: houses in ruins, civilians killed and survivors disturbed.

Vadym Zagrebelnyi, resident of Borodyanka:


»My mother, my brother, my brother's wife, mother and father-in-law – they are all still in there.

Just like other people who were in the basement.

There were more people on the upper floors, including children.

I know for a fact that they didn't come out.

I know they were there."

Vadym Zagrebelnyi himself was lucky.

He says that he was on his way to take his wife and child to safety when a bomb fell.

Vadym Zagrebelnyi, resident of Borodyanka:


»I saw what we can see here now.

I arrived and saw that there are no more buildings.

I saw that there was nothing I could do.

I stood there for a while and then collected my wife and child.

We then left Borodyanka on foot because we had no means of transport.”

It is now clear that dozens of people have been killed here.

And the search is far from over.

The authorities speak of targeted attacks on civilians with cluster bombs and multiple rocket launcher systems.

And what is also clear: Borodyanka is not an isolated case.

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The atrocities committed by the Russian army had already become known in Bucha.

Images of corpses in the streets, civilians killed, went around the world.

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Investigations are underway in Bucha and also in Borodyanka that are intended to provide evidence of the war crimes committed by Putin's army.

A first casualty record from the region is frightening.

Iryna Venediktova, Prosecutor General of Ukraine:


"In the Kiev region - in Makariv, Borodyanka, Bucha, Hostomel, Irpin - we found 650 bodies, including 40 children alone."

A lawyer from the law firm Global Rights Compliance is certain: These victims are not collateral damage, not a coincidence.

Wayne Jordash, attorney for Global Rights Compliance:


“I think there's a pattern.

And that suggests that the Russian way of waging war is all about intimidating civilians into ultimately agreeing with Russian goals.

That's how it was in Syria, that's how it was in Chechnya, that's how they tried it in Georgia.

And I think we're seeing it now too, that's what the pattern is suggesting.

This city is a good example.«

The Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyj also spoke about the pictures from Borodyanka in a video message.

He fears that there will be even more horror there than in Bucha.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy, President of Ukraine:


»The work to clear away the rubble in Borodyanka has started.

It's way worse here.

More casualties from the Russian occupiers.

And what will happen when the world learns the whole truth about what the Russian military did in Mariupol?

You can see on almost every street what the world saw in Bucha and other cities in the Kyiv region after the Russian troops withdrew.

The same cruelty, the same terrible crimes."

Meanwhile, emergency services continue to search.

But what are the chances of such destruction that living people will actually be found under the rubble?

Artem Chernysh, employee of the relief service:


»There is a possibility that people hid in the basement.

The basement is now buried under the rubble, but chances are the basement is intact.

So we'll dig and see."

Reporter:


"Any chance of survivors?"

Artem Chernysh, employee of the relief service:


»If people used the basement as a shelter, they could have taken food and water with them.

Therefore, there is a chance that people still live there.

And we hope so, with God's help.«

Source: spiegel

All news articles on 2022-04-08

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