Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal said on April 1 that the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, which endured a brutal weeks-long Russian occupation in spring last year, should be considered a trial site for "Russian war criminals."
Shortly after Bucha was liberated by Ukrainian forces on March 31, 2022, evidence of Russian atrocities during the occupation shook the world. Bodies of civilians, with their hands tied to their backs, were found on the streets, many with traces of torture.
According to Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin, Russian forces committed more than 9,000 war crimes in the city of Bucha and its district.
More than 1,400 civilians, including 37 children, were killed by Russian troops in the area, Kostin said on March 31, Fifty-two more children were reportedly injured.
"The aggressor must pay for the evil done. Pay with freedom, pay with money, pay with the status of an exiled country," Shmyhal said in a Telegram post, referring to what was discussed during a summit in Bucha on the occasion of the one-year anniversary of its liberation.
On March 31, President Volodymyr Zelensky, along with the prime ministers of Slovakia, Slovenia, and Croatia, and the president of Moldova, attended a ceremony commemorating the first anniversary of Bucha's liberation.
"A year has passed since the day Russian occupiers were driven from our city of Bucha. A city then unknown to the world. A city the world will never forget. We won't let you forget. Human decency demands we remember," Zelensky said in his address on March 31.
Thaisa Semenova
