Ukrainian soldiers liberating the town of Bucha, 37km northwest of the capital Kyiv, have found mass graves and devastated streets littered with brutalized civilian bodies, some with their hands behind their back. The mayor in Bucha said over 300 residents were killed during the Russian occupation including men and women, and a fourteen-year-old boy.

The European Union and Human Rights Watch are among a list of organisations that allege Russia deliberately targeted civilians and committed war crimes in the town.

The Russian defence spokesman has denied the claims. The European Union is assisting Ukraine in documenting evidence of war crimes. United Nations secretary-general Antonio Guterres has called for an independent investigation into the Bucha civilian deaths.

Image: Image: Shutterstock: Drop of Light: Irpin, Ukraine, March 09 2022.

Produced By: Tahlia Kraefft

Featured In Story: Dr Melanie O’Brien, Associate Professor of International Law, University of Western Australia Law School, and Donald Rothwell, Professor of International Law, College of Law, Australian National University

First aired on The Wire, Monday 4 April 2022