The scale of the crimes in Bucha and the neighboring areas around Kyiv started to come into perspective as Russian forces began to withdraw and redeploy to Belarus.
Russian President Vladimir Putin has praised the Russian brigade convicted of many war crimes in Bucha, Ukraine, in a striking snub to traditional human rights concerns. The honorary title of “Guards” has long been granted by the Russian military to a unit designation when it has shown itself in battle or distinguished itself through service. This is meant to indicate that a unit is considered elite. The Great Patriotic War started with the former Soviet Union (World War II). “Guards” will be the new name for the 64th Motorized Infantry Brigade. This was Putin’s frank message to Ukraine and the West that the Brigade’s wave of crimes in Bucha during the ill-fated operation to seize Kyiv was not only a source of worry in Moscow but something to be delighted of.
