Russia-Ukraine conflict: Satellite images refute Russia's claim about massacre in Bucha

Russian forces left Bucha and left behind a slew of dead bodies of Ukrainian civilians in its wake as it continues to wage war on Ukraine. Russian dictator Vladimir Putin was revealed to be lying regarding the killings that occurred by Russian forces in the Ukrainian region.

The viral images and video footage of dead bodies tied and shot littered around Ukraine led the Russian defense ministry to suddenly claim that Ukraine staged the bodies to frame Russia for committing war crimes.

However, according to the New York Times, which reviewed the videos and satellite images, many of the civilians that were found were killed over three weeks prior, when Russian forces occupied the town.

“To confirm when the bodies appeared and when civilians were likely killed, the Visual Investigations team at The Times conducted a before-and-after analysis of satellite imagery,” reported the newspaper.

“The images show dark objects of similar size to a human body appearing on Yablonska Street between March 9 and March 11. The objects appear in the precise positions in which the bodies were found after Ukrainian forces reclaimed Bucha, as the footage from April 2 shows. Further analysis shows that the objects remained in those positions for over three weeks,” the outlet noted.

The manner in which the victims died remains to be determined. According to the outlet, some of those that were killed appeared to be beside what looked like an impact crater of a missile or bomb. Some civilians that were killed were also shown to have their hands tied with a white cloth, and the bodies were scattered over half a mile.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy condemned what happened in Bucha, describing the scene as an act of genocide. Many world leaders also condemned the images and videos of what was found and further called for Putin to be tried for war crimes.

In comments to local media that were posted on the official website Tuesday, Zelenskyy stressed that he hopes for Ukraine to have armed forces in “all institutions, supermarkets, cinemas, there will be people with weapons.”

Zelenskyy likened his vision of Ukraine after the conflict to be similar to Israel and has previously stressed the importance of maintaining ties with Israel.