By Simon Gardner

BUCHA, Ukraine (Reuters] – With a rope around his feet and a charred pit in his forehead, a man lying dead in scrub beside a railroad track near Bucha in Ukraine is a tragic sight.

Brown fallen leaves surround the haunting, sallow-colored figure. In the undergrowth lies the body of another victim, just metres (yards).

The body should not be touched. The body may have been mined”, said one policeman. He pointed out the location where the corpse was found, but declined to give his name.

Bucha was located approximately 37 kilometers (23 mi) northeast of Kyiv and was held by Russian troops for over a month. This occurred after the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2014.

Last week’s Russian withdrawal left behind civilians who were killed in Bucha’s streets and inside buildings. They also left shallow graves.

According to local officials, more than 300 civilians were killed in Bucha by Russian troops. Around 50 were also executed.

A Bucha policeman claimed that Bucha’s residents had buried additional five bodies under an earth mound unmarked by Reuters. Reuters was unable to immediately verify the account.

Reuters witnessed at least five people who had been shot through their heads since reaching Bucha on Sunday. One victim had his hands bound behind his back.

On Wednesday, Reuters witnessed a man wearing blue jeans, a winter jacket and black boots lying 100m from a small graveyard. Reuters could not identify or find out who killed the victim.

Witnesses to the destruction of the town’s facades and the subsequent blackening of its walls have given details about the Russians’ extrajudicial executions. Reuters could not independently confirm their accounts.

Russia has been accused by the government of war crimes and genocide in Ukraine. Kremlin denies the claims and insists that it is not targeting civilians.

Russia’s U.N. On Tuesday, Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia stated to the Security Council that allegations of abuse are false. According to him, Bucha had not been subjected to any violence while it was Russian-controlled.

Russia’s Defence Ministry issued Sunday a statement stating that the Ukrainian authorities had published photos and videos claiming “crimes” in Bucha by Russian troops.

CHECHEN SOLDIER

Eduard Karpenko, a builder, recounted another story about a neighbor who was being marched to the Russian front and shot.

Oleksandr Yemich, a victim of the Territorial Defense Forces was his 43-year old self. They are military reserves for the Ukrainian armed force. Reuters was shown a photo of Karpenko’s passport, but the news agency could not verify any other information.

Karpenko stated that the man was taken from his residence by a Russian soldier, who two soldiers were watching and said he came from Chechnya in Russia. Chechnya is a region that supports Russia’s military presence in Ukraine.

   The soldier marched the man out of sight, to the end of a wooden fence flanking the wood, and then four shots rang out, Karpenko said.

  “They led him to the end of the gate and shot him, with the last shot to the head,” Karpenko said, holding his arms aloft as if being marched away.

Karpenko was accompanied by two men who refused to identify themselves. They confirmed that they saw Yeremich lead away from the gun and heard the shots.

Karpenko stated that he had been with the men for the Russian soldiers’ orders until the nightfall, before attempting to retrieve the body.

We wrapped him in blankets and then covered him again with another. Finally, we dragged him into the grave. Karpenko stated that there was so many bloodstains.

He said the body was buried nearby in a garden, the spot marked with a long wooden stake and a metal frame shaped like a coffin, which was seen by Reuters.

Karpenko and two others hung a baseball hat on a branch close to the location where they claimed the shooting had taken place.

Putin’s ally and Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov stated in a February 26 statement that Chechen troops would fight in Ukraine in Russia’s special military operation to demilitarize it. Reuters couldn’t determine if the operation was in Bucha.

(additional Reporting by Ivan Lubysh -Kirdey & AlkisKonstantinidis; Editing by Silvia Aloisi & Alexandra Hudson (NYSE 🙂