Asharq Al-Awsat has toured the Ukrainian city of Bucha almost a year after Russian forces withdrew from the area.
Since the beginning of the war, the city has witnessed one of its most brutal chapters. As the conflict erupted, Russian forces advanced from the country’s northern border towards the small city located on the banks of a river bearing its name.
Bucha, which sits at a road leading to the Ukrainian capital, Kiev, was Moscow's main target when the war began.
In February 2022, the Russian army took control of Bucha and remained stationed there until Moscow announced its withdrawal from the outskirts of Kiev in late March.
As Ukrainian forces entered Bucha and several journalists arrived there, horrifying details began to emerge about what the city had witnessed during the Russian invasion.
Today, the city marks the anniversary of the events that plunged it into a new and more dangerous phase of the conflict.
Asharq Al-Awsat spoke to some of Bucha’s residents who continue to live under the profound shock of the destruction and suffering inflicted upon their small city.
The residents there recall their pain and recount terrifying details and shocking moments that have not faded from their memory.
On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky commemorated the victims of what he called “war crimes” in Bucha, which Moscow denies committing.
Speaking before the prime ministers of Croatia, Slovakia, and Slovenia, as well as the president of Moldova, Zelensky said: “We will definitely prevail.”
Russia denies its forces committed any atrocities in Bucha and accuses the Ukrainian intelligence of fabricating a “fake attack.”
