THE net is closing in on the “Butchers of Bucha” – and Ukraine is preparing to take the investigation all the way to the top of the Kremlin, The Sun can reveal.
Two years ago today, Russian forces fled the town of Bucha, leaving 458 bodies strewn through its streets, hidden in basements or in hastily dug mass graves.
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In what’s widely considered the worst slaughter of the war so far, at least 82 residents, including nine children, were murdered in cold blood, their bodies left to rot in piles.
Hundreds more were tortured, sexually violated, injured or disappeared in the barbaric one-month occupation at the hands of Putin’s thugs in the once-quiet suburb of Kyiv.
The sickening brutality and murder, carried out mostly by Putin’s 64th Brigade, in the initial weeks of the invasion between March 5 to March 31, 2022, shocked the world.
International law firm Global Rights Compliance is supporting Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) to carry out the ongoing investigations into Russian war crimes.
British barrister Wayne Jordash KC is helping to spearhead these efforts – and revealed to The Sun that the first stage of the complex investigations is completed.
The “Butchers of Bucha” have been identified – named and shamed by Ukraine in 2022 – but their crimes have now been recorded in extreme, pain-staking detail.
The killings were deliberate and systematic, part of a despicable policy, Jordash said. Now, the OPG must follow that chain of command all the way to the top of the Kremlin.
Everyday we move closer to justice.
Wayne Jordash KC
Marking two years since the atrocity, Jordash argued: “There can be no doubt that Russian forces were working to a criminal plan.”
The policy designed for Bucha, he explained, is “now as clear as day” – to eliminate Ukrainian resistance in town and clear a path for Russian forces to enter the capital.
“And they were willing to stop at nothing – terrorism, torture and indiscriminate murder of civilians included – to achieve this goal.”
The human rights lawyer said their investigation was “continuing at pace” as they get ever-closer to proving the responsibility for the massacre lies in the Kremlin.
“Every day we know more and every day we move closer to justice for victims and their families,” Jordash said.
The more attention paid to “war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide” committed on Ukrainian soil, he said, the more possibility that the commanders and political leaders responsible will be identified and one day face the full force of justice.
“Two years on, Bucha is now free and able to look back at those dark days,” Jordash added.
THE CRIMES
Given safe passage by Putin’s lapdog Alexander Lukashenko, Russian forces stormed the suburbs surrounding Kyiv from Belarus in the early days of the Ukraine war.
Trigger-happy Russian soldiers stormed into the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel – names now etched in the minds of every Ukraine’s collective psyche.
Soon after they occupied Bucha, Russian forces went door to door, searching residential buildings – claiming they were “hunting Nazis”.
Russian soldiers snatched, interrogated and executed unarmed men of fighting age. They murdered families trying to flee, terrified elderly residents in their homes and anyone who happened to cross their path.
Who are the ‘Butchers of Bucha’?
THESE 10 Russian soldiers – dubbed ‘the Despicable 10’ – have been named and shamed as part of the “Butchers of Bucha
- Jr. Sgt. Viacheslav Lavrentiev: 29, a firefighter in Transbaikal, eastern Russia before the war. Posted on Facebook: ‘Live one life – save thousands’
- Private Grigoriy Naryshkin: 30, from far-eastern Russia. An athlete and martial artist, personally accused of war crimes by Ukraine’s Prosecutor General
- Private Vasiliy Kniazev: 24, grew up in poverty in Yoshkar-Ola, western Russia. He joined the army straight from school. Posted pictures on Facebook of where the 64th Brigade was stationed following the Ukraine invasion
- Corporal Semen Maltsev: 26, a professional dancer before the war. Left his dance company to sign up to fight in Ukraine in February. Also from the far east of Russia
- Private Sergey Peskariov: 24, quit his job at a supermarket in November in anticipation of war with Ukraine
- Private Albert Radnaev: 24, joined the army straight from school, his father is also reportedly in the Russian Army
- Corporal Mikhail Kashin: 24, from Votinsk, west Russia, where he has a wife and several sisters. He allegedly committed war crimes on his birthday in Bucha
- Corporal Andrey Biziaev: 33, has reportedly served in the Russian Army for over 10 years. Originally from Khabarovsk, eastern Russia
- Corporal Dmitriy Sergienko: 27, from Voronezh, southwest Russia. Has a wife and young daughter
- Sgt. Nikita Akimov: 25, from Komsomolsk in the far east of Russia. Accused of personally kidnapping and torturing innocent civilians in Bucha. Married with kids, and has posted on Facebook throughout the Russian invasion
A father was shot dead in front of his 14-year-old son as they bicycled to an aid station.
Among the atrocities uncovered by Ukrainian forces were “torture chambers” set up in basements where the civilians were killed en masse.
Nine women and girls in Bucha became pregnant after being raped by Russian soldiers in the town.
The UN said the victims of sexual violence ranged in age from four to 82.
Following their hasty retreat from the Kyiv region, leaving a trial of death in their wake, Vladimir Putin quickly awarded medals to those involved in the butchery.
The 64th Motorised Rifles Brigade – who Jordash said “without a shadow of a doubt were involved in the crimes in Bucha” – were praised for the “heroism and valour”.
And in doing so, Putin approved the rape, the torture and the summary executions his troops inflicted – but now Ukraine must prove it.
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THE INVESTIGATION
The first stage of investigating war crimes is mapping them at ground level, Jordash said. Working out what happened and what units were involved.
Then, once a pattern is established “you can understand whether these crimes are the result of troops on frolics of their own or because they’re part of a policy”.
In Bucha, the policy appeared to be clear. Russian forces led what the UN called a “cleansing” operation.
Jordash continued: “And once you start to see the policy, you begin to make the connections to the commanders and go up the chain of command.”
This first stage is now complete, he disclosed.
Next, the investigation must move beyond the immediate perpetrators – the “Butchers of Bucha” and begin the linkage investigation – who designed or drove the policy.
In Kyiv’s suburbs, like Bucha “you have a very visible chain of command,” Jordash explained.
It all links back to General Aleksandr Chaiko – who the barrister explained was in charge of all the Russian units encircling Ukraine’s capital.
He was “the face” of those atrocities – and “responsible for the policy of brutalising Ukrainian civilians”.
Now Ukraine must prove that. “That’s the most difficult part of war crimes investigations.”
Jordash expects that the OPG is building robust cases against Chaiko and his subordinates.
And when that is finished they can work towards proving whether the massacre was ordered by the Kremlin and eventually Putin himself.
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