United States President Joe Biden Calls Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal as satellite images debunk Moscow's claims that the killing of civilians in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, happened after its troops fled the town.
Over the weekend, images of the dead bodies of civilians were seen strewn in the streets of Bucha. Some of the fatalities were found with their hands bound and some with gunshot wounds to their heads. Russia's Ministry of Defense immediately denied responsibility for the situation.
Civilian Casualties in Bucha
Officials suggested that the bodies had been recently placed on the streets after all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha around Mar. 30. Russian authorities said that the images were just another "hoax" and called for an emergency UN Security Council meeting regarding what they called "provocations of Ukrainian radicals" in Bucha.
However, an analysis of the satellite images showed that many of the civilian victims were killed more than three weeks ago during the time Russian military forces were in control of the region. A local council member was able to video an incident on Apr. 1 that showed multiple bodies lying along Yablonska Street, as per the New York Times.
The situation has prompted UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to call for an independent investigation to look into the images depicting the dead bodies in Bucha. Pro-Russian social media accounts later circulated a slowed-down video of the footage that showed the bodies, claiming it showed one of the victims' arms moving.
The video recording was grainy, but with closer analysis, what is claimed to be a moving arm was found to be a mark in the bottom right corner of the vehicle's windscreen. The "moving arm" is believed to be either a raindrop or a speck of dirt and could be seen in other parts of the video in other areas of the vehicle's windscreen.
According to BBC, another Russian claim focused on a separate part of the video, which shows the vehicle passing another body. The victim is lying next to pavement with red and yellow stones and shattered brown fencing. The claims say the body "sits up" but analysis shows that it was only being distorted by the mirror.
War Criminal
Biden on Monday ordered the gathering of evidence against Putin to put the Russian leader on trial for war crimes for his war on Ukraine. The Democrat called the European leader "brutal" and said that the situation in Bucha is outrageous.
The U.S. president also revealed that he had plans to impose more sanctions on Russia for its invasion. When a reporter asked Biden about the nature of the sanctions, he said that he would reveal the details at a later time.
Later on Monday, National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at the White House that the expected sanctions would be announced later this week. The official said that Russia will pay a severe price for its transgressions. Sullivan added that the U.S. government has communicated with Moscow directly and has coordinated with allies and partners to hold Russia accountable, CNBC reported.
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