ROME, MAY 2 (ANSA) – The Ukrainian prosecutor’s office on Monday identified the first suspect in a massacre of civilians in the city of Bucha, where hundreds of bodies were found with traces of torture after the Russian invasion.
This is Sergey Kolotsey, commander of the Russian National Guard, who is now an official suspect for killing four unarmed Ukrainians and torturing another civilian in Bucha.
The information was shared by Ukrainian prosecutor general Iryna Venicetova, who shared a photo of the suspect and other victims with their hands tied. “This photo has become one of the symbols of the atrocities in Bucha,” she wrote on Facebook.
According to Venicetova, local authorities “discovered that it was this soldier who killed four unarmed men in Bucha on March 18.” As early as 29 March, Kolotsey reportedly tortured another civilian who was forced to sniff a corpse, in addition to the physical violence he suffered.
Ukraine is now investigating whether the Russian commander was linked to other crimes committed in Bucha. In his publication, the Attorney General also asked Ukrainians to help find Kolotsey and to post any evidence of his war crimes on the government’s official website.
The small town of Bucha became known worldwide for the number of bodies abandoned on the streets and buried in mass graves, many with their hands tied or with signs of torture.
For the Russians, the images were “stagings” made by the Ukrainians. However, various internal as well as international investigations such as the International Criminal Court are ongoing and they are expected to charge the occupying troops with war crimes.
source: Noticias
