Russian serviceman who shot civilians with children in Bucha to be tried

Ukrainian law enforcement officers have completed an investigation and submitted to court a case on charges of a Russian Armed Forces serviceman who shot a car with civilians, including children, in Bucha, Kyiv Region, in March 2022.

This was reported by the Office of the Prosecutor General.

‘Juvenile prosecutors of the Prosecutor General's Office have sent an indictment to court against a Russian serviceman involved in the shooting of civilians in the city of Bucha, Kyiv Region,’ the press service of the department reports.

It is known that the accused is a 24-year-old deputy commander of a combat vehicle, gunner-operator of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division of the Chernihiv Airborne Division of the Russian Armed Forces.
The investigation established that in March 2022, during the occupation of the city, he shot two cars with civilians who were trying to evacuate from the war zone.

‘In particular, while travelling as part of a military convoy, the accused opened fire from a 30 mm automatic cannon of an airborne assault vehicle (BMD-2) at vehicles carrying seven civilians, including two young children,’ the statement said.

The shooting killed four civilians - a mother, two children aged five and ten, who were in the first car, and their neighbour, who was travelling in the second car behind. 

Three other people sustained injuries of varying degrees. The father of the shot family had his left leg amputated due to severe injuries.

It is also noted that during the attack, civilian vehicles were parked on the roadside, did not move towards the military convoy and did not pose any threat.

The defendant is charged with violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder (part 2 of Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine).

The pre-trial investigation was conducted by the National Police of Ukraine.

According to the Prosecutor General's Office, over 12,700 civilians have been killed since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, including 562 children. The investigation into these and other criminal episodes is ongoing.