““This proceeding underscores the methodical approach to war crimes committed by Russian forces, indicating that many of the crimes committed in Buch were part of a carefully coordinated criminal plan involving the Russian leadership.””, — write: www.radiosvoboda.org
“This is the first case regarding the illegal Russian occupation of the Kyiv region, when the commander, and not just the immediate executor, is suspected of committing a crime as a result of the actions of his subordinates. This proceeding underscores the methodical approach to war crimes committed by Russian forces, indicating that many of the crimes committed in Buch were part of a carefully coordinated criminal plan involving the Russian leadership,” the statement said.
The organization emphasized that the new notice of suspicion is based on evidence that can be used to further investigate the actions taken by the top echelons of command in order to determine whether “Kim acted alone or, as the evidence suggests, his actions were part of a state criminal plan that involved the commission of particularly serious crimes on the territory of Ukraine during a full-scale invasion, which was ultimately directed by high-ranking Russian commanders and officials, including Putin and his inner circle.”
“The new report of suspicion creates the basis for future investigations, the purpose of which is to bring to justice not only the immediate perpetrators, but also the high-ranking military and political command, up to, in particular, President Putin, for the politics and brutal crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine during the full-scale invasion. This criminal proceeding demonstrates that Russian forces acted as tools of a criminal organization, targeting individuals on the direct orders of their commander. This opens an important path to the criminal prosecution of high-ranking Russian political and military commanders and leaders,” said Global Rights Compliance President Wayne Jordash KC.
Deputy Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andrii Leshchenko, who is quoted by human rights activists in their report, emphasized that this procedural decision establishes the principle of personal responsibility of commanders for issuing criminal orders and their inaction in preventing crimes, “sets an important precedent for further international prosecution of war criminals and serves as a powerful signal to the world community about the audacity of the crimes of the Russian Federation and Ukraine’s determination to ensure justice for the victims of aggression.”
On October 31, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported that they had declared suspicion against Yuri Kim, the platoon commander of the 76th Airborne Assault Division, for ordering murders, direct participation in crimes and illegal actions of subordinates.
“He is one of the six suspected Russian soldiers who committed atrocities in Bucha… According to the investigation, on March 7, 2022, during the occupation of Kyiv region, servicemen of the 234th Airborne Assault Regiment of the 76th Airborne Division of the Russian Armed Forces, under the command of a lieutenant, established control over the “Lisova Bucha” district. Carrying out the so-called “filtration”, they searched, tortured and killed pro-Ukrainian civilians who, in their opinion, could help the defense forces of Ukraine. During March 2022, subordinates of this officer killed at least 17 civilians. In order to hide the crimes, they burned the bodies of some of the killed,” the prosecutor’s office said.
The OGP noted that the platoon commander, instead of observing the laws and customs of war, violated them himself, urging his subordinates to commit atrocities, convincing them of impunity.
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“He organized a reporting system, thanks to which he knew about all their actions in the occupied territory, and had real opportunities to prevent crimes or punish their commission. His actions and orders created a system in which violence against civilians became the norm for the entire unit. The commander of this unit fully controlled the actions of his subordinates. In addition, it was established that the commander himself took a direct part in the brutal treatment of three civilians and threatened them with murder,” the report said.
The Kyiv region, which was partially under Russian occupation from February 24 to March 31, 2022, was liberated from Russian troops at the beginning of April 2022. After the retreat of the Russian military, mass murders of civilians were recorded in the liberated cities and villages, and numerous testimonies about the atrocities of the Russian military were collected.
According to the Archive Department of the Buchansk City Council, 554 civilians died in the Buchansk community during the period of Russian occupation. 43 bodies remain unidentified, another 38 Buchan civilians are considered missing. At least 33 men are still in captivity. One of the civilians illegally imprisoned by Russia died in Russian captivity.
Russia denies the involvement of its troops in the mass killings of civilians in Buch, even though the facts of the killings of civilians during the Russian occupation have been confirmed by satellite images. The Ministry of Defense of the Russian Federation claimed that during the stay of the Russian troops in this city, “no local resident suffered from any violent actions”, and the President of the Russian Federation Putin called the mass shootings in Buch “a fake” and a “provocation”.