Butscha: Those are the stories of three dead people

Atrocities in Kiev suburb
Many lives ended in Bucha. These are the stories of three

Pictures of the Bucha dead went around the world: an old man slumped next to his bicycle, three others with their hands tied behind their backs. Reporters from the AFP news agency saw a total of 20 bodies in civilian clothes on April 2 in Bucha’s Jablunska Street. AFP staff were among the first journalists to reach the Kiev suburb after Russian troops withdrew.

Ukraine and Western countries have accused Russian forces of “war crimes” in the small town. Russia categorically rejects all allegations and accuses the Ukrainian authorities of having staged the murders.

But what exactly happened on Jablunska Street? Who were the men who were shot? And why did they have to die? The AFP news agency spoke to relatives of the victims and evaluated legal and police sources in order to understand the fate of three of the dead.

Mykhailo Kovalenko, shot dead at a checkpoint

On March 5, the 62-year-old tried to flee Bucha with his wife and daughter while it was still possible. When the family got to a Russian checkpoint on Jablunska Street, Kovalenko got out of the car “with his hands up,” reports Artem, Kowalenko’s daughter’s boyfriend. Nevertheless, the soldiers opened fire. Kowalenko’s wife and daughter managed to save themselves by running away.

The body of the 62-year-old remained on Jablunska Street for 29 days. The smartly dressed man, who loved classical music and walking his dog, was identified by his attire by loved ones in an AFP photo. “It was terrible,” says Artem, who identified Kowalenko’s body in the morgue on April 18.

Mykhailo Romanyuk, the man on the bicycle

The 58-year-old’s body was found lying on his back and buried under his bicycle. “We left together, but I came back alone,” says Oleksandr Smaglyuk. The 21-year-old’s eyes stared into space when he reported on March 6th. That morning Mykhailo Romanyuk, known as Myshka, and Oleksandr, the friend of Myshka’s niece, wanted to cycle to the military hospital in Irpin, four kilometers away.

They were hoping to visit Oleksandr’s injured father there and wanted to take the opportunity to charge their cell phones. They were still 500 meters from the hospital when the shots rang out. “We didn’t see anyone,” says Oleksandr. “I only heard the shots and saw how (Myschka) fell.” He himself then fled into a small alley on his bicycle.

Unbeknownst to the residents of Bucha, Yablunska Street had become an outpost of the Russian units that had taken the city. Barricades were erected in the streets and soldiers stationed in the surrounding houses. The soldiers shot “everything that moved,” says Butscha’s police chief, Vitaly Lobass.

Romanyuk’s body lay on the sidewalk for 28 days. “He loved to sing. He was a happy man who liked to drink beyond his thirst,” remembers Viktoria Vatura, Romanyuk’s sister-in-law.

“Maksym the Fearless”

Maksym Kiriev’s body was found face down at a roundabout between Yablunska and Yaremchuka streets. Beside it were two other bodies, one of whom had his hands tied behind his back with a strip of white cloth that many Ukrainians use to identify themselves as civilians.

Up until that point, the 39-year-old builder had survived by taking refuge in various basements, says his acquaintance Iryna Shevchuk. “Everyone called him ‘Maksym the Fearless'” because he was always willing to help others and run errands. On March 17, he and another man left their shelter. Kiriyev went to a nearby construction site to get a change of clothes. He never came back.

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AFP