Russian President Vladimir Putin bestowed an honorary title on the military unit accused of committing war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine.
When Russian military forces withdrew from the capital Kyiv region, including from the town of Bucha, evidence immediately surfaced of dead civilians strewn in the streets.
The military brigade has been accused by Ukraine of committing atrocities and mass killings in Bucha. They have also been accused of sexual assault and rape as a weapon of war.
Earlier this month, the Ukrainian defense ministry said that the unit occupied Bucha and committed “war crimes.” Most of the people who were killed in Bucha died of gunshot wounds. Some civilians had their hands tied behind their backs.
Ukraine’s prosecutor general said that the bodies of 410 civilians were recovered from the wider Kyiv region after Russia left the region. Before collecting the bodies, authorities documented and photographed them all in order to collect evidence for a war crimes investigation.
Russia rejects accusations of committing atrocities in Bucha.
Putin on Monday gave the military unit that left Bucha honorary titles. The 64th Motor Rifle Brigade was given the title of “Guards” for defending the “Motherland and state interests.” Putin went on to praise the troops’ “mass heroism and valor, tenacity and courage.”
Putin’s announcement failed to make note of Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine, just that the forces protected the “motherland and state interests.”
Following the honorary designation, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhailo Podolyak said on Twitter that “while someone is debating whether crimes can be called genocide, [Russia] continues to laugh in the face of the world.” He accused the brigade of murdering children and raping women.
Bucha drew widespread international attention when images surfaced showing dead bodies in the streets and in mass graves. The accounts of sexual violence and rape in Bucha have been horrifying. The full scale of the atrocities committed is not known, and it may never be, according to experts.
President Joe Biden called the killings a war crime and imposed additional sanctions against Russia following the Bucha attacks.
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