Editor’s note: If you need more context, we highly recommend reading our Big Story on the historical roots of the conflict, effectiveness of economic sanctions, return of the Cold War, what is driving Vladimir Putin, India’s “balancing act” and the looming oil crisis.

Trigger warning: We have not included photos of the alleged war crimes, but some of the descriptions are graphic.

Tell me what happened in Bucha…

The context: For over a month, the Russian military has been bogged down in Ukraine. Tens of thousands of troops were amassed outside key cities, but were unable to take control. Bucha—which is on the outskirts of Kyiv—was taken immediately after the invasion, but had put up fierce resistance to the invading troops. Last week, in a shift in strategy, Moscow started “repositioning” its troops to focus on the southern and eastern parts of the country. As a result, Ukrainians reclaimed all areas around the capital over the weekend—and that’s when officials and reporters made the horrific discovery.

The bodies of Bucha: According to Ukrainian sources, the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in areas around Kyiv. In Bucha, here’s what the reporters witnessed (see the photos here): 

“Associated Press journalists saw the bodies of at least 21 people in various spots... One group of nine, all in civilian clothes, were scattered around a site that residents said Russian troops used as a base. They appeared to have been killed at close range. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs, one was shot in the head, and another’s legs were bound.”

Other reports confirm that a number of the civilians appear to have been simply executed—often shot in the head. This evidence confirms previous witness accounts from Bucha:

“On March 4, Russian forces in Bucha, about 30 kilometres northwest of Kyiv, rounded up five men and summarily executed one of them. A witness told Human Rights Watch that soldiers forced the five men to kneel on the side of the road, pulled their T-shirts over their heads, and shot one of the men in the back of the head. ‘He fell [over],’ the witness said, ‘and the women [present at the scene] screamed.’”

Residents also offered accounts of troops hunting down people in hiding—taking them away and shooting them dead. And the pattern appeared to be the same in other neighbouring towns:

“In Motyzhyn… residents told AP that Russian troops killed the town’s mayor, her husband and her son and threw their bodies into a pit in a pine forest behind houses where Russian forces had slept. Inside the pit, AP journalists saw four bodies of people who appeared to have been shot at close range. The mayor’s husband had his hands behind his back, with a piece of rope nearby, and a piece of plastic wrapped around his eyes like a blindfold.”

Point to note: Ukrainian officials also allege that Russian soldiers raped women and burned their bodies. An earlier Human Rights Watch report confirmed incidents of rape based on witness accounts.

The mass graves: Newly released satellite photos show a 45-foot-long trench in the grounds of a church in Bucha. The first signs of excavation were captured on March 10. This is also where CNN reporters have confirmed seeing signs of a mass grave—but Reuters isn’t sure if it is the same church as the images.

Point to note: An unverified video clip shared on social media last week appeared to show Ukrainian soldiers shooting bleeding Russian prisoners of war in the kneecap—which Kyiv has promised to probe and punish. A detailed BBC News investigation suggests it may be authentic.

What’s everyone saying about all this?

The outrage: 

• President Zelenskyy described the Russian forces as “murderers, torturers and rapists” who were committing “genocide.” 
• UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was “deeply shocked.” 
• The US, NATO and the EU have been the most vocal among the other nations. A number of them—including France—have called for harsher sanctions on Russia—targeting coal and gas, which Europe has so far avoided. 
• Germany expelled 40 Russian diplomats to protest the Kremlin’s “unbelievable brutality” and “boundless will to exterminate” in Ukraine. Other EU nations are expected to follow suit.
• Washington will ask the UN General Assembly to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council—which will require a 2/3rd majority vote—while President Biden declared President Putin should be tried as a war criminal.

Russia’s response: Moscow has rejected all allegations, of course. Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov dismissed the images as a “stage-managed anti-Russian provocation”—while a Kremlin spokesperson claimed they contained “signs of video forgery and various fakes.” In fact, Russia claims that it is all an elaborate US plot to make it look bad: 

“In this case, it seems to me that the fact that these statements (about Russia) were made in the first minutes after these materials appeared leaves no doubt as to who 'ordered' this story.”

Moscow has also requested the UN Security Council to convene to discuss what it calls a “blatant provocation by Ukrainian radicals.”

Point to note: China has not said a word—and its media has been either silent or carried Russian denials. And Chinese social media users have been mostly sceptical about the images. We couldn’t find any report of a response from New Delhi, either.

But why would Russia do this?

There are a number of reasons—some specific to Ukraine and others that have more to do with how Moscow fights its wars.

One: Weakness. For over a month now, the world has been puzzled by the Russian army’s poor performance. The problems include flawed military strategy, troops starved of fuel and supplies and suffering from plummeting morale. But weak armies are also more dangerous, as experts have already warned:

“There’s reason to worry that the ineptitude and lack of professionalism that Russian forces have displayed in the first three weeks of the conflict are making fighting considerably more brutal for civilians than a more competent military would—and increasing the prospects that the war escalates.”

And when all else fails, indiscriminate violence becomes the inevitable next step: “And the reason for it, of course, is the fact they essentially failed in a conventional, tactical attack, so they're resorting to what they can do, which is wanton destruction and the killing of innocent civilians.”

Two: Force a surrender. It is now clear that Russia was not expecting the Ukrainians to put up such a fierce resistance to the invasion. Its strategy was based on scaring them into surrender—which is the reason for the relentless shelling of civilian targets. But as the war has dragged on, Moscow has increasingly used “dumb” bombs—as opposed to guided missiles—and heavy shelling to wreak the greatest suffering. It has turned to a strategy of attrition that includes “the reckless and indiscriminate use of firepower.”

What happens once Russian troops enter a city appears to be no different. Killing civilians may have become a way to ensure total compliance: 

“They resorted to killing adult males and raping women as the only way to ‘suppress resistance and achieve a collective nervous breakdown. [It was] physical and psychological destruction of a will to resist.’”

Point to note: Some experts have questioned the wisdom of the Ukraine military’s strategy of turning civilian neighbourhoods into militarised zones—which makes them choice targets for bombing. Extending that logic, Zelenskyy’s call to every Ukrainian to arm themselves could also be how Russian troops justify civilian killings.

Three: Urban warfare is always brutal—and was no different during World War II. As the New York Times notes: 

“Throughout the modern era, urban sieges have consistently been among the bloodiest forms of warfare. They are often defined by horrifying violence against civilians as invaders seek to root out strongholds of resistance from areas where perhaps millions of innocents still live. Mass homelessness and starvation are common. As armed resistance grinds on, occupiers will often come to see whole populations as threats to be suppressed.”

Four: It’s just war as usual. This is exactly what Russia has done in the past. In 1999, Putin ordered the complete destruction of Grozny—the capital of Chechnya. By the  end, tens of thousands of civilians had been killed—and the UN declared it the most destroyed city on Earth. In Putin's words, his troops “fulfilled their task to the end.”

In Syria, when the UN shared a list of hospitals—to ensure they will not be accidentally hit in the bombing—Russians instead hit every one of them, as one journalist recalls:

“And that was, I think, partly to break the morale of not just the rebel movement but the population. And also, of course, if you are fighting a war against an enemy and you destroy their health centres, then you make it difficult for them to reproduce themselves on the battlefield... I saw hospitals that were underground because the Russians would target anything that looked like a humanitarian centre or a hospital.”

Key point to note: This is not casual cruelty or rootlessness—but established military doctrine. Here’s how a prominent Russian strategist describes it:

“​​Massive devastation and collateral fatalities among the civilian population are acceptable in order to limit one’s own casualties… The use of force is the most efficient problem solver, if applied decisively and massively.”

Reading list

For most reporting on the atrocities, read CBS News, Human Rights Watch and the Associated Press. Kyiv Independent has the photos. Washington Post has a thought-provoking piece on whether the Ukrainian military strategy endangers its own citizens. New York Times looks at the roots of Russia’s use of brutal force, while Al Jazeera and the New Yorker lay out parallels with Syria. Also in the New York Times: a delicately nuanced look at what happened to a town under Russian occupation. Reuters has an exclusive on young Russian conscripts being sent to Ukraine with defective equipment and no training. CNN has a good explainer on war crimes—and why they are difficult to prosecute. NPR looks at the rules of war.