Damning dossier of Russia’s war crimes
Compelling evidence of torture and execution Elite forces ammo ‘was fired at civilians’
These are not isolated cases. They happened wherever Russian forces were in control
DONATELLA ROVERA
WAR crimes investigators have uncovered compelling evidence that Russian troops tortured and executed Ukrainian civilians as their attack on Kyiv was driven back.
Amnesty International said ammunition issued only to Vladimir Putin’s airborne units – armour-piercing rounds and black-tipped 9x39mm calibre bullets – had been fired at citizens in Bucha where up to 400 locals were killed.
The invaders had also subjected people to “reckless shootings” during the February and March confrontation.
Amnesty’s Donatella Rovera said: “These are not isolated incidents.
“They are very much part of a pattern wherever Russian forces were in control of a town or a village.” She was speaking at a news conference in the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv as Amnesty launched a major new report into Russia’s orgy of violence against citizens.
The findings came as Moscow’s foreign ministry yesterday summoned British ambassador Deborah Bronnert to protest against fresh sanctions on Russian media.
Ukraine is probing more than 9,000 potential war crimes by Russians.
The International Criminal Court is also investigating.
The Amnesty report is the latest to document alleged massacres when Putin’s forces occupied an area northwest of Kyiv which included Bucha.
They were driven back in early April by a ferocious counter attack. The report
concludes that Russians committed a “host of apparent war crimes” in Bucha including “numerous unlawful killings”.
The identity of individual Russian soldiers involved was said to have been established. They include troops of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division. Ms Rovera said she had collected the special ammunition. It is produced at a plant south of Moscow for rifles used only by airborne units.
Her claim adds enormous weight to earlier revelations this week linking war crimes to Russian airborne troops.
Mr Rovera added: “We also found and were able to view some military documents that
indicate the presence of these special units in these places where these crimes were committed.”
Amnesty has so far documented 22 cases of unlawful killing by Russian forces in Bucha and nearby areas. More than 1,000 Ukrainian troops and 200 civilians yesterday remained holed up in a steel works in Mariupol which Kremlin forces are trying to overrun. Three buses carrying 48 civilians left the Azovstal works, according to Russian media. The plant has been under constant shelling for eight weeks. Russia has handed over 41 people, including 28 military, in a prisoner exchange with Ukraine.