World

Caught on Camera, Traced by Phone: The Russian Military Unit That Killed Dozens in Bucha


This investigation was reported and produced by Yousur Al-Hlou, Masha Froliak, Dmitry Khavin, Christoph Koettl, Haley Willis, Alexander Cardia, Natalie Reneau and Malachy Browne.

When videos and photos emerged in April showing the bodies of dozens of civilians scattered across a street in Bucha, Ukrainians and the rest of the world expressed horror and outrage. But in Russia, officials had an entirely different response: denial.

President Vladimir V. Putin dismissed the gruesome scene as “a provocation,” and stated that the Russian Army had nothing to do with it.

But eight months visual investigation of The New York Times concluded that the perpetrators of the massacre along Yablunska Street were Russian paratroopers from the 234th Airborne Shock Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Gorodilov.

Evidence suggests that the killings were part of a deliberate and systematic attempt to ruthlessly secure a route to the capital, Kyiv. Soldiers interrogated and executed unarmed men of combat age, and killed those who unwittingly crossed their paths – whether it was children fleeing with their families, civilians. Locals hoping to find groceries or those simply trying to get home on their bicycles.


We have identified 36 Ukrainian victims killed along Yablunska Road. Read more about their final moments.


Times reporters spent months in Bucha after the Russian forces withdrew, interviewing residents, collecting vast amounts of security camera footage, and gathering records exclusively from government sources. In New York, Times investigators analyzed the document and reconstructed the murders along this street down to the minute. Some of the most dangerous evidence regarding the 234th includes phone records and decoded call signs used by commanders on Russian radio channels.

All point to a blatant and bloody campaign that turned a quiet suburban street into a People now call it “the road of death.”

Historically, journalists and investigators relied on a single photo or video to expose wartime crimes. In 1992, Time magazine published a image of a frail prisoner in Bosnia on its cover. Almost 20 years later, a recorded video execute captured Tamil Tiger warriors in the last days of the civil war in Sri Lanka.

What distinguishes the evidence discovered in Bucha is the scale and detail linking a unit and its commander to specific murders, with possible implications for ongoing investigations. take place. The International Criminal Court (ICC) has investigate possible war crimes and other atrocities in Ukraine.

“This type of digital evidence is a big change, especially compared to previous investigations like in the former Yugoslavia,” said. Matthew Gillett, a senior lecturer at the University of Essex, who has previously worked in international criminal courts. “If any Ukraine case ends up in an international court like the ICC, it must have a significant video component.”

Here are some key points of the investigation.

While various military units were present in Bucha — and the death toll across the city reached more than 400 – The Times identified the 234th Regiment, a unit of paratroopers stationed in the city of Pskov in western Russia, as the main culprit in the murder on Yablunska Street. Airborne units like these are considered to be among the best trained and equipped in the Russian military. Evidence of 234th Division involvement included military equipment, uniform insignia, radio chats and packing slips on weapons crates. Military experts from Janes and War Research Institute provided insights into Russian armored vehicles and their markings and tactical operations seen in visual evidence.

Residents in Bucha said that when Russian soldiers interrogate them, they often confiscate their phones. Suspecting the soldiers may also have taken the victims’ phones, our reporters obtained from the Ukrainian authorities a database of all calls and messages made from the Bucha region to Russia in March. When we interviewed the relatives of the victims, we collected their phone numbers and checked if they were in the database. A chilling pattern emerged: soldiers routinely used victims’ phones to call home in Russia, often hours after they were killed.

By analyzing phone numbers called by Russian soldiers and exploring social media profiles related to their family members, The Times confirmed the identities of two dozen paratroopers who were members of the Russian military. 234th Regiment. On many occasions, we interviewed their relatives and spoke to some of the soldiers themselves, two of whom confirmed they belonged to the 234th division and served in Bucha. We cross-referenced our findings with personal data sourced from official and leaked Russian databases by Center for Advanced Defense Studiesa nonprofit group in Washington, DC focused on global security.

The Times identified — for the first time — thirty people were killed along Yablunska Road in March. We reviewed the death certificates of most of these victims and the main cause of death was gunshot wounds.

The victims were residents of Bucha or nearby towns, of all ages and professions. Among the victims killed by Russian paratroopers were Tamila Mishchenko, 52, and her 14-year-old daughter Anna, on March 5. They were among four women who fled Bucha when Russian soldiers opened fire on the truck. their little blue.

Nearly all of the victims we identified on Yablunska Street were Ukrainian civilians or prisoners of war. Their killing can be prosecuted by the International Criminal Court and is considered a war crime under international humanitarian law. Due to their systematic and widespread nature, homicides in Bucha can also amount to crimes against humanity. Russia has not joined the ICC and is unlikely to cooperate in any potential future cases involving Russian troops.

The victims on Yablunska Street did not die in a gunfight between Russian and Ukrainian forces, nor were they shot by mistake in the fog of war. Our investigation revealed that the Russian military had intentionally killed them, apparently as part of a systematic “clean-up” operation to secure the road to the capital. Dozens of civilians were shot dead. In other cases, men suspected of having ties to the Ukrainian military were rounded up and executed.

Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Gorodilov, regimental commander at the head of the 234th division, oversaw the activities of the paratrooper units in Bucha. Times investigators obtained documents confirming the call sign he used in radio communication with his military. Security cameras along Yablunska Street captured some of these radio conversations, determining that Lieutenant Colonel Gorodilov was in command, and two soldiers from the 234th division who had served in Bucha confirmed during the interviews. interview that he was there.

After the Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv area, Lieutenant Colonel Gorodilov was promoted to colonel in April from the head of the airborne troops, Colonel Andrey Serdyukov. The ceremony was held a few days after the shocking images from Bucha emerged.

Neither General Serdyukov nor Colonel Gorodilov’s immediate superior at the time, Major General Sergey Chubarykin, published any investigations into the massacre in the town despite global outrage over the images. Photo. As superior officers, they are ultimately responsible for the actions of the forces under them. By not preventing or investigating the atrocities in Bucha, they may end up being held accountable for them.

The Russian Defense Ministry, the Russian Embassy in Washington and Colonel Gorodilov did not respond to requests for comment.

Report contributed by Evan’s Hill, Ishaan Jhaveri and Julian Barnes. Translation and research by Alexander KorolevaOksana Nesterenko and Milana Mazaeva.

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