They came in March, left in April, and left a bloodbath in their wake. Russian soldiers killed more than 450 people in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, most of them civilians. New revelations in the “New York Times” now show how calculated the troops were – and which unit is behind it.
The material evaluated shows with frightening accuracy how brutally and calculatedly the soldiers of the 234th Rifle Division acted. An overview.
Who is behind the 234th Rifle Division?
The 234th Rifle Division, a paratrooper unit, reached Jablunska Street in Bucha on March 4. The soldiers interrogated and executed unarmed men of fighting age. They killed dozens of people who crossed their path, whether it was children fleeing with their families, local residents looking for food or people just trying to cycle home. So the research results of the newspaper. Russian troops turned the quiet suburban street into what local residents now call “Death Street.”
Paratrooper units like this are among the best trained and equipped units in the Russian army. Evidence of the 234th’s involvement includes military equipment, uniform insignia, surveillance cameras, radio traffic, and packing slips on ammunition boxes. The inverted triangle seen on many tanks represents this division.
How were they found guilty?
Bucha residents told the newspaper that Russian soldiers often confiscated their phones during interrogations. A surprising pattern emerged: Soldiers routinely used the phones of civilian victims to call Russia, often just hours after they were killed.
By analyzing the phone numbers of the Russian soldiers and uncovering social media profiles of their relatives, NYT was able to confirm the identities of two dozen paratroopers as members of the 234th regiment and interview them.
How could this happen?
The Jablunska Street victims did not die in crossfire between Russian and Ukrainian forces, nor were they accidentally shot. The investigation shows that Russian forces killed them on purpose, apparently as part of a systematic “clean-up operation” to secure the route to Kiev.
Senior officers of the unit were on the scene during the occupation of Bucha and witnessed the execution of civilians first hand and did nothing. Lieutenant Colonel Artem G.*, the regimental commander of the 234th regiment, supervised operations in Bucha. Other senior military officials were also present.
For the American newspaper it is clear: there were omissions in the chain of command without which dozens of civilians could have been saved. The Russian Defense Ministry and the Russian Embassy in Washington did not respond to a request from the newspaper.
* Name known