A New York Times visual investigation has revealed exclusive evidence identifying the Russian regiment accused of what has been described as one of the worst atrocities ever committed in Ukraine.

When photos and videos emerged in April showing the bodies of dozens of civilians strewn along a street in the city of Bucha, Ukrainians and the rest of the world expressed horror and outrage.

But in Russia - adds the New York Times - the reaction of officials was completely different, which is denial.

President Vladimir Putin dismissed the horrific scene as a "provocation" and said the Russian military had nothing to do with it.


However, the newspaper's 8-month visual investigation concluded that "the perpetrators of the massacre along Yablonska Street were Russian paratroopers from the 234th Air Assault Regiment commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Gorodilov."

According to the New York Times, the evidence shows that the killings were "part of a deliberate and systematic effort to secure a ruthless route" to the capital, Kyiv.

She added that some Russian soldiers "executed unarmed men of fighting age, killing people who passed in their path - whether they were children fleeing with their families, locals who went out in search of food, or people who were simply trying to get home on their bikes."

The investigation has identified 36 Ukrainian victims murdered along Yablonska Street.

The newspaper pointed out that its correspondents spent months in Bucha after the withdrawal of Russian forces, interviewing residents, collecting a large number of security camera footage, and obtaining exclusive records from government sources.


Some of Unit 234's most damning evidence included phone records and decoded call signals used by commanders on Russian radio channels, all pointing to a "scandalous and bloody campaign that turned a quiet suburban street into what residents now call Death Road," adds the New York Times.

The newspaper identified some of the main points of the investigation, including that the 234th paratroopers unit stationed in the city of Pskov in western Russia is the main perpetrator in the Yablonska Street killings, despite the presence of different military units in Bucha.

And by examining residents' phone records obtained by the newspaper's correspondents from the Ukrainian authorities, it was established that the soldiers routinely used the phones of the victims to call their homes in Russia, only hours after they were killed.


The investigation indicated that most of the victims were ordinary citizens of mothers, fathers and children of all ages and professions, from Bucha and neighboring towns.

The New York Times explained that the victims did not die on Jablonska Street in a crossfire, nor were they accidentally shot in the fog of war, but rather it was a deliberate killing, apparently as part of a systematic "cleansing" operation to secure the way to the capital.

In other cases, men suspected of having links with the Ukrainian army were arrested and executed.

The investigation revealed that Lieutenant Colonel Artyom Gorodilov, commander of the 234th Regiment, oversaw the operations of the paratrooper unit in Bucha.

The American newspaper's investigators obtained documents confirming the communication signal he used when communicating via radio with his forces.

Security cameras along Jablonska Street captured some of these conversations, proving he was driving.