Ukraine will “continue the fight for independence”, the Supreme Commander of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, Valery Zaluzny, said today, a year after the bodies of civilians were discovered in the town of Bucha, outside Kiev, after Russian troops withdrew from the area.

“We continue the fight for the independence of our homeland,” Zaluzny said in a Telegram message.

On April 2, 2022, AFP journalists saw the bodies of 20 civilians in Butsa, one of whom had his hands tied behind his back, as well as burned cars and destroyed houses. These scenes shocked the entire world, with Kiev and the West repeatedly denouncing the mass executions of civilians and war crimes. Since then, Bucha has become a symbol of the “atrocities” inflicted on Moscow’s troops during their occupation of the region. The Kremlin denies any involvement and speaks of orchestrated crimes by Ukraine and its allies.

“A year ago, the Kyiv region survived thanks to our people…The greatest respect and gratitude to those who helped us defeat the enemy,” Olena Zelenska, wife of President Volodymyr Zelensky, said on Twitter today.

“Glory to the armed forces,” said Andriy Yermak, head of the Ukrainian president’s office.

Ukraine estimates at “over 1,400” the number of civilians killed in the Bucha region during the Russian occupation, including 37 children. Of these dead, 637 were killed within the city itself.