War in Ukraine: Bucha Street is littered with tanks and burning corpses
Written byTimes Magazine
The Boulevard Suburban in Bucha became one of the first graveyards for Russian hopes of besieging and attacking Kyiv and then overthrowing the government of President Vladimir Zelensky.
The moment came two or three days after the first Russian troops crossed Ukraine on February 24, when Ukrainian troops destroyed a column of Russian tanks and armored personnel carriers moving through the city of Bucha towards Kyiv.
The convoy was destroyed in one of the many Ukrainian ambushes that stopped Russia's advance.
Our BBC team made it to Bucha because the last Russian troops were withdrawn on Friday as part of what the Kremlin presented as a calm and rational decision to focus on the war in eastern Ukraine.
Moscow says without evidence or reliability that its military objectives in central Ukraine have been achieved and have never included the capture of Kyiv.
The truth is that an unexpectedly fierce and well-organized Ukrainian resistance stopped them outside the capital, and proof of that is the rusty and crooked remains of the pillars that still lie in their wreckage on this suburban street.
Elite troops of the Russian Air Force arrived in the city in armored vehicles that were light enough to be transported by plane. They came from Hostomel Airport, a few kilometers away, which on the first day of the invasion was attacked and captured by Russian paratroopers who landed by helicopter. Even then, there was fierce resistance from the Ukrainian armed forces.
When the line passed Bucha on their way to Kyiv, they had difficulty getting up.
The path was narrow and straight, an ideal place for an ambush. Witnesses said Ukraine attacked the convoy using Bayraktar drones purchased from Turkey. Another neighbor said that Ukrainian territorial defense volunteers were also in the area.
However, the leading vehicle was killed, and the others arrested. The remains are not touched. The 30mm cannon belt rests on the edge of the grass, along with many dangerous and damaged abandoned cannons.
The young recruits fled, pleading, locals say, not to be deported to Ukraine's territorial defense. A 70-year-old man named Uncle Hrisha said: "I feel sorry for you. They are very young, 18 to 20 years old, with a whole life ahead.
The Russians who were preparing to withdraw from Bucha had no regrets. At least 20 people died on the streets as Ukrainian troops entered the city. Some of them had their hands tied behind their backs. The mayor said they buried 280 people in mass graves.
Trending News
