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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky in Bucha on March 31, 2024
Photo: AFP
Two years after the liberation of several Kiev suburbs from Russian occupation, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky recalled the atrocities there. Bucha, Borodianka, Irpin and other once-contested places represent the fight of Ukrainians for their country and for their lives, Zelensky said in a video message distributed on Sunday. "Ukraine will definitely win," he said in the town of Borodyanka, which was liberated two years ago, and where he now had the message recorded. At another on-site visit in Butscha, he recalled the massacre of civilians, which was honored with a new monument.
Ambassadors from several countries also gathered in Bucha to commemorate the victims. »The presence of us ambassadors shows that the international community stands by Ukraine. Butscha's crime must be atoned for," said German Ambassador Martin Jäger on the social network X. Russia, which invaded Ukraine on February 24, 2022, continues to deny having committed war crimes there.
Hundreds of people were killed in Bucha
Like no other place in Ukraine, Bucha stands as a symbol of atrocities in Russia's war against Ukraine. Some bodies were found with their hands tied behind their backs. On April 2, 2022, days after the Russian withdrawal, images of the dead lying on the streets went around the world. Hundreds of people were killed there after the Russian invasion, according to Ukrainian investigators.
Zelensky said that Ukraine would liberate its entire country in the future, just as it did the Kiev suburbs. "The most important thing is not to lose faith in yourself," said the president. Not a day should go by without Ukraine being able to produce results. About 20 percent of the country is under Russian control. Moscow has occupied areas in the east and south of the country.
Ukrainian secret service will not extradite officials
Meanwhile, the Ukrainian secret service SBU rejected demands from the Russian Foreign Ministry to extradite Kiev officials to Moscow. After the terrorist attack on the Crocus City Hall event hall near Moscow, Russia is demanding the extradition of SBU boss Wassyl Malyuk. The Russian leadership sees a Ukrainian trace in the attack, even though the Islamic State terrorist militia claimed responsibility for it. Ukraine categorically denies any involvement.
Moscow's statements were particularly cynical against the backdrop of the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, where Russian troops committed atrocities, the SBU said on Sunday, according to the Ukrainskaya Pravda internet portal. The Moscow ministry also forgets that it represents a terrorist state and that Russian President Vladimir Putin is wanted by the International Criminal Court in The Hague with an arrest warrant for alleged war crimes, it said.
The SBU said Russia could only make its voice heard by acknowledging its defeat and withdrawing its troops from the occupied Ukrainian territories. Russia accuses the Ukrainian secret service of a variety of terrorist attacks and crimes, including assassinations of Russian propagandists. Intelligence chief Malyuk had admitted that Ukraine was responsible for the October 2022 attack on the Kerch Bridge to the Black Sea peninsula of Crimea, which was annexed by Russia.
aka/dpa