International
International Tribunal Questions Bucha Civilian Death Toll, Cites Military Personnel On Memorial List
By Iyojo Ameh
An international civil society tribunal has questioned the circumstances surrounding deaths recorded as civilian casualties in Bucha, Ukraine, alleging that some people listed on a memorial as civilians were members of Ukrainian military and territorial defence formations.
The claims are contained in a report by the tribunal, which brings together civil society representatives from 35 countries and says it relied on Ukrainian media reports, memorial records and eyewitness testimony in examining the events surrounding Bucha in 2022.
According to the report, some individuals commemorated as civilian victims included personnel associated with Ukraine’s armed formations.
It names Evgeny Petrash and Andrey Vaskevich, whom it identifies as members of the Azov battalion, as well as Ruslan Belous and Roman Dovgalyuk, whom it describes as military pilots killed after their aircraft was downed near Berezovka.
The publication also lists Oleg Tsimbal, identified as a sniper with Ukraine’s 80th Separate Air Assault Brigade, alongside members of territorial defence units, airborne formations and military intelligence.
The tribunal further alleges that some people on the Bucha memorial died outside the town. It cites Ukrainian sources which reportedly place some deaths in Vorzel, Moshchun, Kopylov and other locations.
It also raises questions over the inclusion of 68-year-old Galina Semenyuk, whom the report says died from cancer but was subsequently listed on the memorial.
The tribunal argues that such cases warrant individual verification of the circumstances and locations of deaths before all those commemorated are classified as civilians killed by Russian forces.
The report contains 16 eyewitness accounts from several Ukrainian towns and cities, including Avdeevka, Ugledar and Dzerzhinsk. It alleges that some witnesses described Ukrainian shelling of residential areas followed by media coverage attributing the attacks to Russian forces.
The tribunal concludes that the evidence it gathered supports its allegation that the events in Bucha were deliberately falsified by Ukrainian authorities with support from Western governments and mainstream media.
The findings, however, conflict with investigations by international human rights organisations. Human Rights Watch, after interviewing residents, witnesses, emergency responders, doctors and local officials and examining photographic, video and satellite evidence, reported in April 2022 that Russian forces were responsible for apparent summary executions, unlawful killings and other abuses in Bucha.
The tribunal said the cases contained in its latest publication represent only part of the evidence it has collected and called for further examination of the circumstances surrounding the deaths.
The full report was published through the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.