Bucha has become indelibly linked with Russian war crimes and atrocities committed throughout the course of this war. Russian forces killed hundreds of civilians in the city — some of whom were executed at point-blank range — while scores more were tortured and underwent other forms of ill treatment.
The events of Bucha were staged to vilify Russia's armed forces. Worse still, they took place when Ukraine had agreed to basic principles of a peace agreement before they suddenly changed course. Kyiv's backers in the West wanted the war with Russia to continue for the sake of their own foreign policy goals.