PERSONAL: 'It was a massacre' Bucha residents recall horror of Russian occupation, four years on

Record ID: 2371430

  • Title: PERSONAL: 'It was a massacre' Bucha residents recall horror of Russian occupation, four years on
  • Date: 30th March 2026
  • Summary: SHAFA AMR, ISRAEL (MARCH 30, 2026) (REUTERS) DEBRIS INSIDE HOUSE AFTER SHRAPNEL FROM IRANIAN MISSILE FELL ON HOUSE / HOLE IN CEILING HOLE IN CEILING VARIOUS OF DEBRIS INSIDE HOUSE MEN ON ROOF OF HOUSE CHECKING DAMAGES DEBRIS AND DAMAGES ON ROOF OF HOUSE HOLE SEEN ON ROOF TOP BROKEN WINDOWS PARAMEDICS TAKING INJURED WOMAN OUT FROM HOME (SOUNDBITE) (Hebrew) RESIDENT OF SHAFA
  • Embargoed:
  • Keywords: Russian forces Russian invasion occupation of Bucha war in Ukraine
  • Location: BUCHA, UKRAINE
  • City: BUCHA, UKRAINE
  • Country: Ukraine
  • Topics: Conflicts/War/Peace,Europe,Military Conflicts
  • Reuters ID: LVA006850930032026RP1
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text: EDITORS PLEASE NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC IMAGES
    Four years after Ukrainian forces retook the town of Bucha outside Kyiv, residents who survived the Russian occupation marked the anniversary on Monday (March 30) while mourning relatives killed later in the war.
    Svitlana Cherniakova, an accountant from Bucha, spent two weeks living under Russian occupation in early 2022 before fleeing with her family on March 9, when she said Moscow’s troops opened a corridor for civilians.
    Soon after, her then‑20‑year‑old son, Vladyslav Cherniakov, volunteered to join Ukraine’s armed forces.
    He was killed in December 2022 near the eastern city of Avdiivka, one of the bloodiest front lines of the war.
    The losses for the family did not end there. Cherniakova’s ex-husband Andrii joined Ukraine’s military in March 2024 and served with the 3rd Assault Brigade.
    He was killed in September 2024 in the Luhansk region in eastern Ukraine.
    Cherniakova said she had waited ten months for his body to be identified through DNA analysis before he was finally buried in Bucha.
    Ukrainian authorities accuse Russian troops of carrying out executions, rapes and torture during the occupation of Bucha. Moscow denies the allegations.
    Kyiv says more than 1,400 people were killed in Bucha during the occupation, including 37 children. It says more than 175 people were found in mass graves and torture chambers, and that investigators have identified some 9,000 alleged Russian war crimes connected to the town.
    (Production: Vladyslav Smilianets, Sergiy Karazy, Margaryta Chornokondratenko)
  • Copyright Holder: FILE REUTERS (CAN SELL)
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2026. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: WARNING: Editors please note, this clip contains graphic material
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