The languages of the whole world remember the name "Bocha", and all eyes are on this small city near the capital, Kyiv, after the Ukrainian authorities revealed a "massacre" against its residents, and accused the Russian forces of being behind it, before they withdrew from it.
Hundreds of corpses in buildings and streets, and talk of massacres of civilians who were handcuffed and blindfolded, with direct bullet wounds to the head, and mass graves in which dozens of them were buried, in addition to accusations of raping women and killing children.
Kyiv describes what happened in the city as a crime of genocide, and compares it to the crimes of the Bosnian "Srebrenica" and the Syrian cities;
She pledged to hold those behind her in the Russian army and leadership accountable.
What is the significance of Bucha?
And why did you witness the heaviest bombings and battles over the days of the war, up to this “massacre”?
Get to know Bucha
Bucha is administratively affiliated to the Kyiv region, about 37 km from the heart of the capital, to the northwest of it, on an area of about 27 square km, inhabited by about 37,000 people.
1898: Bucha was founded and became famous in the middle of the last century as an industrial town, which includes a station for freight and passenger trains, and major factories for wood and glass, in addition to a theater that can accommodate 500 people.
- 2006: Bucha was administratively transformed from a town to a city, due to its modern successive expansion, and witnessed great urban and commercial activity, being one of the closest cities to Kyiv.
It enjoys a popular location between the Bucha and Rokac rivers, in addition to its richness in water, trees and surrounding forests.
One of the most prominent landmarks in the city is the Bucha Municipal Park, which is considered a nature reserve, and the destination of many residents of the city, Kiev and neighboring cities, due to its large area, and its richness with trees, animals, cultural and recreational facilities.
From blessing to curse
The city is bordered from the north by the town of Hostomel, which includes Hostomel International Airport, or what is also known as the airport of the “Antonov” company for cargo and aircraft production, an airport that Russian forces have sought since the first days of the war to control coming from Belarus through the city of Chernobyl from the north, and carried out several Landing operations in it, to be a base for a later launch towards the capital.
The main road from the airport to Kyiv inevitably passes through the city of Bucha, and then through the city of Irbin in the south, which is the main link between it and the capital, Kyiv, through a road that crosses a river and a wide area of forests.
The city of Bucha is a major corridor for most of the trains heading directly from Kyiv to the regions of western Ukraine, before diverting their tracks to other railways, so as not to be targeted and not controlled by Russian forces, thus increasing their spread in the country.
February 24, 2022: With the beginning of the Russian war on Ukraine, the city's privileged location turned into a curse.
Starting from February 27, 2022: the city witnessed the most violent bombings and battles in the northwestern axis of Kiev.
March 22, 2022: The city fell completely into the hands of the Russian forces.
Champion due to her resistance
March 31, 2022: After the start of the withdrawal of Russian forces from the Kyiv region, the Ukrainian authorities granted the title of "Hero City" to Bucha, in appreciation of the violent resistance it had shown against the Russian and Chechen forces supporting it.
The city's resistance, according to the authorities, liberated it from the "Russian occupiers", after fierce battles that left many casualties and destruction among their soldiers and vehicles;
But it led to another destruction, which affected half of its residential buildings and infrastructure, and led to the deaths of hundreds of the civilian population trapped in it, who were unable to flee early.