Involved in murder of 17 civilians in Bucha: Russian commander Kim notified of suspicion. PHOTOS
A Russian commander involved in the killing of 17 civilians during the occupation of Bucha has been notified of suspicion.
This was reported by Censor.NET with reference to the press service of the Prosecutor General's Office.
He is one of six Russian military suspects who committed war crimes in Bucha. The commander is suspected of giving orders to kill and of direct involvement in the crimes.
Killing of civilians in Bucha
"On 7 March 2022, during the occupation of Kyiv region, servicemen of the 234th Airborne Assault Regiment of the 76th Division of the Airborne Forces of the Russian Armed Forces, under the command of a lieutenant, established control over the "Lisova Bucha" area.
Carrying out so-called "filtration," they conducted searches, torture, and killings of pro-Ukrainian civilians who, in their opinion, could be helping the Ukrainian defence forces," the Office of the Prosecutor General said.
During March 2022, the officer's subordinates killed at least 17 civilians. They burned the bodies of some residents to hide their crimes.
According to the prosecutor's office, the commander urged his subordinates to commit atrocities, assuring them of impunity.
"He organised a reporting system that allowed him to know about all their actions in the occupied territory and had real opportunities to prevent crimes or punish those who committed them.
His actions and orders created a system in which violence against civilians became the norm for the entire unit. The commander of this unit had complete control over the actions of his subordinates," they added.
It has also been established that the commander was directly involved in the ill-treatment of three civilians and threatened to kill them.
Investigation
More than 330 victims and witnesses were questioned, 59 investigative experiments were conducted, 86 photo identifications were made, 89 inspections of the crime scenes were carried out, and 3 exhumations of the bodies of the victims were performed.
It was possible to reconstruct in detail the circumstances of the murders of 17 civilians in Bucha.
The direct perpetrators were identified and a unique, comprehensive legal assessment of the platoon commander's actions was provided.
He was held accountable for three forms of war crimes: giving criminal orders, directly committing crimes together with other military personnel, and command responsibility (responsibility for crimes committed by subordinates).
The Office of the Prosecutor General also published the full text of the charges against the Russian commander.
The suspect is Kim Yury Vladimirovich, born in 1997, a serviceman of the 234th Airborne Assalt Regiment of the 76th Airborne Assault Division of the Russian Airborne Forces.
Bucha massacre
In March 2022, the Russian army, while on the territory, committed war crimes, including murder, kidnapping, torture, and rape of civilians. As a result of the actions of the Russian military, more than 630 people were killed.
