After the withdrawal of the Russian troops, the hour has come with the first observations of the horror. The Ukrainian Attorney General Iryna Venediktova announced the discovery of at least 26 body under the rubble of two apartment buildings in Borodyanka, a town in the Kiev region, a few kilometers from Boutcha, where the discovery of numerous civilian bodies in the streets sparked international outrage. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has already warned“there are more victims” then in Boutcha. Franceinfo summarizes what we know about the situation on site†
A city targeted by Russian troops for a month
Borodyanka, located in the administrative subdivision ofKiev Oblast, consisted of 13,000 inhabitants before the war† Located 50 kilometers away northwest of the capital and one hundred kilometers from the Belarusian border, this city lay on the axis of the column of Russian tanks of more than 60 km that gradually advanced towards Kiev. After heavy shelling and air raids from February 28the city was occupied by Russian troops for several weeks, as related CNN in a report detailing the extent of the damage †in English†
Faced with the difficulties Moscow faced in taking the capital, the Kremlin finally announced a change of strategy on March 25 to focus on the east and south of the country. It was this withdrawal of forces from the city that made it possible to discover the consequences of this occupation after a month of Russian offensive.
Extensive damages and war crime allegations
In a post about facebook Published on Thursday, Ukraine’s Attorney General explains that theRussian troops used cluster bombs and heavy multiple rocket launchers “bring death and destruction”† Iryna Venediktova calls out “the most destroyed city in the Kiev region” or “only the civilian population was targeted”. She remembers that“there is no military area” in Borodyanka and states that “there areevidence of war crimes committed by Russian troops at every bend” from the city.
“The enemy treacherously shells the residential infrastructure in the evening, when there was a maximum of people at home”, the Ukrainian magistrate assures. She accuses the Russian soldiers of being involved in “murder, torture and beatings” civilians, as well as rapes, noting that law enforcement officers are gathering evidence before local and international courts.
The teams of France Télévisions, who were able to go to the liberated city, also noted the destruction of many residential buildings. Our special envoys have collected testimony from civilians, alleged summary executions.
“They killed a woman there, they burned her body in the courtyard. There was also a man without a head, I don’t want to know what they did to him.”a resident tells the France 3 microphone. “When they arrived in Borodyanka, they started firing their tanks haphazardly at the tops of the houses. As soon as they saw an open window, they opened fire,” the mayor of the city testifies to reporters from France 2.
A rating still difficult to determine
While Ukrainian rescuers began clearing the rubble, the Ukrainian Attorney General announced the discovery of at least 26 bodies under the rubble of two apartment buildings. “It is difficult to predict how many deaths there will be” in total in the city, she adds on Facebook, as the first counts are just beginning. Questioned on Wednesday by the special envoys of France Télévisions,The mayor of the city counted at least 200 victims.
In a video message released Thursday evening, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky assured that the situation in Borodyanka “much more terrible” then in Boutcha, where the images of the corpses of civilians awakened wire. ‘There are more victims’, the head of state added. The balance, which is still difficult to determine, could increase in the coming days.