Russian Deputy Defense Minister Alexander Fomin announced on March 29 the withdrawal of his forces from the kyiv region, leaving behind hundreds of corpses of summarily executed civilians in the streets. According to the local police chief, nearly 900 civilians were killed in the area, including 350 in Boutcha. In the areas that Russia, accused of war crimes, has occupied, old ladies during the siege tried to persuade Russian soldiers to show clemency.
“They arrived here very quickly, the tanks were shooting everywhere at the houses”, mentions Maria, pointing with her index finger to the western entrance of Boutcha. His friend Tatiana, who stands by his side, recounts the events experienced in the first days of the invasion. “It was very violent, I couldn’t go down to the basement because of my leg problems, so I stayed lying on the ground. Sitting with her four childhood friends on a wooden stool in front of a house, Maria, a 73-year-old lady, witnessed abuses by Kremlin soldiers in Boutcha. For The dutyshe confided in the Russian occupation.
Wrapped in her warm clothes, a dark magenta scarf on her head to protect herself from the freezing cold, Maria begins to tell. “There’s no electricity because of the war, so it’s warmer outside than in our houses. When the Russian army began to occupy the city, the soldiers methodically went door to door in search of soldiers and men. Maria discreetly observed through her window the comings and goings of the young soldiers.
“Why are you closing your door? one of them shouted. “And you, why did you destroy the gate to my garden? Maria replied coolly. Two Russian soldiers entered his house, aiming their rifles at it, to check if there were any hidden men. At the same time, in the house next door, Tatiana, 73, was worried about her friends. “We have known each other since childhood, we grew up together. I was worried about my girlfriends, ”says Maria’s neighbor.
For a month, the Russian forces put the inhabitants of Boutcha through hell. Dozens of civilians were murdered. The bodies were lying on the roads. The soldiers patrolled daily, passing the corpses of Tatiana’s and Maria’s neighbors without bothering to cover them.
Despite the fear, the two women opposed the occupier. Engaging in moral resistance, they asked, “Why did you come? To this question, the Russians answered: “We come to protect you. Undaunted, Maria asked: “But from whom? Enough to ? We decide what we want. We live in a democracy. »
The passage and the siege of the Russian army left a field of ruins followed by a large number of questions. “They called us ‘brothers’, but they behaved with far too much violence. We can’t understand why they did this,” says Maria, wiping away her tears.
Shoot in the back
Borodyanka, a town of 13,000 northwest of Boutcha, was also an epicenter of horror. Assassinations, bombings of buildings, the city which was under occupation suffered an abominable fate. Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukrainian president, said, comparing Borodyanka to Butcha: “It’s much more horrible there, there are even more victims of the Russian occupier. »
A street away from the city center sees a succession of small wooden and stone houses. In this rural landscape, the sound of the stream flowing nearby blends with the song of the birds. Inside a garden, Marina reunites with her 80-year-old friend Taisiya after bringing groceries from downtown. The house where the two ladies are is owned by one of Taisiya’s sisters.
“With my two sisters, our neighbor Marina and my son Roman, we lived here, because it is the only house that has a fireplace. And it was very cold, ”says Taisiya, whose purple scarf shows a fringe of white hair. “The Russians came to search our house. They were looking for links with Stepan Bandera, ”explains the old lady.
Stepan Bandera (1909-1959) was a theorist and leader of the anti-Soviet independence movement connected to the far-right organization of Ukrainian nationalists. He inspired Russian propaganda to legitimize the invasion that began in early February.
“My late husband was Russian, my son too,” says Taisiya. When the soldiers entered their home, Roman, her 58-year-old son, intervened. “You are guilty of this situation. Why are you doing this ? On March 17, Roman went out to check on the condition of the family home, and he was arrested and interrogated by the Russian military. He ended up being released. “When my son was finally able to leave, the Russians shot him in the back as he walked away from the checkpoint. He was seriously injured. He was struggling to walk. He would collapse, fall asleep, then go back to our house,” says Taisiya in tears. “When he finally got home, he said a few words — ‘I’m sorry, I can’t help anymore,'” the old lady said in tears. “He died the next morning,” she concludes in front of the makeshift grave dug in her sister’s garden.
Despite the ban on going out, Taisiya and her friend took the time to dig a hole facing the river and make a wooden cross. “This Russian propaganda that makes us Nazis is horrible. How many people died because of this false information? My son died without any valid reason,” says Taisiya, revolted.
intervene
The region of kyiv, subject to cruelty, has been emptied of its youth, gone to the front, abroad or killed by Russian soldiers. The old people stayed. An old lady says: “Initially, we tried to talk to these young Russians, but when they started killing civilians, we were afraid to say anything. »
Olia is 72 years old, she lives in a small village south of Borodyanka. “We were hiding in the basement of our house when they arrived. They asked us to come out with our hands up and wanted to kill my grandson. Alexi, 27, was saved by the courage of her grandmother. “Shoot me,” she said, stepping between Alexi and the soldier who was pointing his gun. Eventually the family was spared, and the Russian garrison took possession of the house. Today, Olia washes by energetically rubbing a carpet on which the soldiers slept, wishing to erase all traces of their presence.