War in Ukraine: Horrible evidence points to war crimes on the streets outside Kyiv

Footage of Russian soldiers shooting a man with their hands raised on a highway near Kyiv in early March has spread around the world. Now Russia is being driven out of the area, and Jeremy Bowen is forced to see the dire effects of their short-lived occupation. This report contains material that some viewers find embarrassing.

We counted 13 bodies in the gruesome stretch of road no more than 200 meters between Mriya and Mila, the village whose Ukrainian name translates as Mechta and Mila. Two of the confirmed dead were Ukrainian civilians killed by Russia. The others have not been identified - they are lying where they were dead - but only two wearing Ukrainian military uniforms can be identified.

Our team was able to access the area on the main highway E-40 as it approached Kyiv, as Ukrainian forces had taken over the sector only 10 hours earlier. There were signs of heavy fighting and shooting everywhere. The gas station and hotel, known for its spas and restaurants, were ruined. Shells and craters cut Holes on both roads.

The Ukrainian army, changing wheels in the wreckage of a roadside garage, said the Russians were about 4 km (2.5 miles) away and were withdrawing their remaining troops and armor after fierce fighting that lasted several days in the early hours of the morning. . At the heart of the destruction are corpses and many questions and concerns about who they are and how they died.

Some answers exist for the couple killed by the Russians and left to rot on March 7. Their rusty car, full of shrapnel, lay on the road to one of the gas stations and was turned into a missile by the fire. Next to it were the burnt and twisted remains of bodies almost recognizable as human remains. There is still a wedding ring on the corpse's finger. Spread across the body of his car were the cremated remains of a woman, her mouth open like a scream.

His death was recorded on March 7 by a Ukrainian drone commanded by the Bugatti Territorial Defense Unit. The department released the video, which was reposted by news organizations worldwide. He caused outrage because he demonstrated the cold-blooded murder of a man who raised his hand to show he was harmless in a classic show move.

This month, the bodies discovered in an investigation belonged to Maxim Yovenko and his wife, Xena. They were part of a column of 10 civilian vehicles trying to outrun the Russians and reach Kyiv.

They see a Russian tank digging in the grass as they drive down the road. Video with the drone shows that it is marked with the letter V, one of the identifiers used by the Russian armed forces. The other cars made a quick turn and drove at high speed. But Maxim's car stopped, most likely because it was hit.

Maxim jumped up and raised his hand as soon as the car stopped. Within seconds he was shot. His wife died in the car. Her six-year-old son and the elderly mother of a friend of Maxim's were also in the vehicle. Both survived and were eventually freed by Russian troops.

They were found walking on the street, and the woman told her family that Maxim had shouted that there was a child in the car when he was killed. According to the Bugatti drone, both survivors are now safe but seriously injured.

The car is currently on fire but did not catch fire after the attack. One hypothesis is that the Russians burned bodies and vehicles to destroy evidence of their crimes. Bugatti troops sent their drone video to Ukrainian authorities and London Police in London.