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Bucha mass grave and calls for war crimes trials
Summary
A retrospective on 4 April 2022, when images from Bucha prompted a US call for trials while Ukraine said peace talks would go on.
What did the world learn from Bucha on 4 April 2022? Within days of Russian forces leaving the areas around Kyiv, a mass grave was found in the town, and the reaction from Washington and Kyiv came quickly.
A mass grave in Bucha
On 4 April 2022, a mass grave was found in Bucha. Police in the Kyiv region and local residents said they believed at least 150 people were buried there. The town's mayor said the number of dead could reach 300. Ukraine's president, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, visited the site of the mass burial.
The discovery came shortly after Russian troops withdrew from the area. The Battle of Bucha, part of the Kyiv offensive, had lasted from 27 February to 31 March 2022 and ended with the withdrawal of Russian forces. It was part of a larger effort to encircle the capital.
Washington calls for trials
As more images from Bucha emerged, US President Joe Biden called for Russian President Vladimir Putin to face trials for war crimes.
Talks to continue
Zelenskyy said that peace negotiations would continue despite the massacre in Bucha.
The days before
The findings followed a rapid change in the situation around the capital. On 2 April 2022, Ukraine's deputy defence minister, Hanna Malyar, said that Irpin, Bucha, Hostomel and the whole Kyiv region had been freed from the invader. Thirty towns and settlements in northern Ukraine and around Kyiv had been returned to Ukrainian control after what was described as a mass Russian retreat.
On 3 April 2022, Zelenskyy also made a video appearance at the 64th Annual Grammy Awards, delivering a pre-taped speech that urged viewers to support Ukraine in any way they could during the invasion.
The regional repercussions were also visible. On 2 April 2022, Finland's prime minister, Sanna Marin, said a decision on joining NATO had to be made before the summer, adding that Russia was not the neighbour Finland had thought it was.
By 4 April 2022, then, the recapture of territory around Kyiv had exposed the scale of what had happened in Bucha. It produced a US call for war crimes trials, a visit by the Ukrainian president and a pledge that negotiations would not be abandoned.
