Day 40 Roundup: International Outrage Mounts After Mass Graves Found in Bucha, Russia Denies War Crime Accusations
The Facts
- World leaders have condemned Russia and called for an independent investigation after images circulating on Apr. 2 showed a number of dead bodies scattered across the streets of Bucha, a small city on the outskirts of Kyiv, and reports of mass graves emerged. Biden also called for Putin to be tried for war crimes on Mon.
- Russia has denied allegations of war crimes and accused Ukraine of staging the images, stating that no civilian casualties were reported when Russian troops withdrew from the city on Mar. 30.
- Russia's Ministry of Defence further pointed to a statement from Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk on Mar. 31 in which he said Ukrainian officials were sweeping the streets for Russian mines, but made no mention of mass civilian casualties.
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The Spin
Anti-Russia narrative
This invasion is an egregious violation of international law. Putin's ultimate aim is to restore the Soviet empire, even if it takes massive bloodshed and false pretexts such as calling the 2014 Ukrainian revolution after a fraudulent election a "coup". This unprovoked attack is the latest chapter in Putin's Orwellian attempt to rewrite history.
Pro-Russia narrative
NATO and the US have ignored Russia's security concerns by breaking its promise not to expand eastward in return for German reunification. These concerns are legitimate and taking them seriously would have avoided the Ukraine tragedy.
Metaculus Prediction
According to the Mentaculus prediction community, if a bilateral cease-fire agreement is reached between Russian and Ukraine this year, it won't take effect until the end of June.
