A Times review of dozens of death certificates of victims along Yablunska Street shows that a majority were killed by gunfire. In other cases, the bodies were so badly burned that forensic investigators could not determine their cause of death.
The death certificate for Mykhailo Romaniuk identifies the cause of death as “gun wound to the head.”
Courtesy of Kateryna Romaniuk
The death certificate for Zhanna Kameneva says the cause of death could not be determined due to “severe burns to the body.”
Courtesy of Hennadiy Kamenev
Russia’s bloody campaign against civilians wasn’t limited to Yablunska Street. Across town, residents were killed in courtyards, wells, garages and forests. Some were buried in makeshift graves in their own backyards.
Ukrainian law enforcement officials, grappling with the scale of the crimes, posted thousands of graphic images of the dead to a public Telegram channel, hoping families would identify and collect their loved ones.
Dozens of victims remain unidentified in Bucha, and neighboring towns and villages. Among them are four men who were photographed on Yablunska Street.
A man in a striped pink shirt was shot and killed between March 6 and 7.
A man wearing Under Armour pants was killed on or before March 25.
Another man wearing an “Echo Function” brand jacket was killed around March 20.
A man who was killed between March 17 and 18 was found with bullet wounds in his head and neck. He was carrying groceries.
