Nearly 90% of Bucha victims were shot, not random casualties of war, mayor says

The death toll of the massacre in the Ukrainian town of Bucha has been growing everyday with at least 320 civilians reportedly dead as of Thursday. The Mayor of Bucha has now shed more light into the horrific crimes.

Anatoly Fedoruk told Deutsche Welle that nearly 90% of the murdered civilians found in the city had bullet wounds, not shrapnel.

The Ukraine’s Ministry of Defense said that the wounds are further proof that the civilians were deliberately killed and they were “not random collateral casualties of war.”

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The Bucha massacre was “on purpose,” says Ukraine, while Russia denies claims of targeting civilians. 

Talking about the increase in the number of bodies being found, Fedoruk said: “It is growing because they are found in private estates, parks, squares, where it was possible to bury bodies when there was no shelling.”

The streets of the small town were found scattered with dead bodies, with some of the corpses having their “hands tied and bullet wounds.” Nearly 50,000 lived in Bucha prior to the invasion which began on Feb. 24. Now, only 3,700 are left behind.

The atrocities in Bucha has forced the suspension of Russia from the United Nations’ Human Rights Council. 

Of the 193 members of the assembly, 93 voted in favor of suspension as proposed by the United States while 24 voted against and 58 abstained. Ukraine said it was “grateful” for the decision to suspend Russia.

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“War criminals have no place in UN bodies aimed at protecting human rights,” Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter. “Grateful to all member states which supported the relevant UNGA (United Nations General Assembly) resolution and chose the right side of history.”

On Thursday, President Volodymyr Zelensky said that thousands of Ukrainians are missing as Russia’s invasion continued for a 43rd day.

“We already know about thousands of missing people,” he said in a video address. “We already know about thousands of people who could be either deported to Russia or killed. There are no other options for their fate.”