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Thursday, June 1, 2023 | 
U.S. & World

This Ukrainian city might be worse off than Bucha

The atrocities in Bucha may not compare to what’s happening in Borodyanka, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said

By Herb Scribner Herb Scribnerhscribner@deseretnews.com
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A monument to Taras Shevchenko, a Ukrainian poet in Borodyanka, Ukraine.

A monument to Taras Shevchenko, a Ukrainian poet and a national symbol, stands near an apartment ruined in the Russian shelling in the central square in Borodyanka, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

Efrem Lukatsky, Associated Press

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the situation in the city of Borodyanka may be worse than what happened in Bucha.

What happened in Bucha?

Last weekend, multiple photographers and authorities reported that there had been mass civilian killings in Bucha.

  • The civilians were found with their arms tied behind their backs, per Axios.
  • The Russian defense ministry rejected the reports, though, saying that Ukraine had staged the attacks.

What’s happening in Borodyanka?

Investigators said they found 26 bodies amid destroyed buildings and locations in Borodyanka on Thursday, according to CBS News.

Zelenskyy said the situation in Borodyanka is “much worse” compared to what happened in Bucha, a city outside of Kyiv.

  • “It’s significantly more dreadful there. Even more victims from the Russian occupiers,” he said, per Reuters.
A resident looks for belongings in an apartment building in Borodyanka, Ukraine.

A resident looks for belongings in an apartment building destroyed during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Borodyanka, Ukraine, Tuesday, April 5, 2022.

Vadim Ghirda, Associated Press

Men ride bicycles by a destroyed apartment in Borodyanka, Ukraine.

Men ride bicycles by a destroyed apartment building in Borodyanka, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

Vadim Ghirda, Associated Press

An heavily damaged apartment building fin Borodyanka, Ukraine.

An heavily damaged apartment building following a Russian attack in the center of Borodyanka, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022.

Efrem Lukatsky, Associated Press

The bigger picture about attacks in Ukraine

Iryna Venediktova, Ukraine’s prosecutor general, said that authorities have found 650 dead bodies overall in the Kyiv region, which includes Borodyanka and Bucha, according to Reuters.

Wayne Jordash, a lawyer with the Global Rights Compliance law firm and foundation, said these attacks are a sign that war crimes may have been committed.

  • “When you see that pattern developing then it becomes clearer and clearer and clearer that what we’re talking about is war crimes and also crimes against humanity,” he said, per Reuters.
  • “I would say in Bucha they may even go further, it’s unclear at the moment, but there are indications there of genocide. That’s what I would say.”