Fact Check: Atrocities in Bucha not 'staged' with 'actors'

Moscow, Apr 06: The images of mass grave and tied bodies shot at close range in Bucha, a town taken back from Russian troops, in the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war has triggered global outrage.

The deaths in Bucha, galvanised the United States and Europe into additional sanctions against Moscow and the incident also overshadowed peace talks between Russia and Ukraine. However, Moscow has denounced the mass killings in Bucha as fake or spreading false reports to sow confusion.

An outrageous claim, fueled by Russia, has been circulating on social media - that the atrocities were staged.

In detailed broadcasts to millions of viewers, correspondents and hosts of Russian state TV channels said Tuesday that some photo and video evidence of the killings were fake while others showed that Ukrainians were responsible for the bloodshed.

"Among the first to appear were these Ukrainian shots, which show how a soulless body suddenly moves its hand," a report Monday on Russia-1's evening news broadcast declared. "And in the rearview mirror it is noticeable that the dead seem to be starting to rise even."

But satellite images from early March show the dead were left out on the streets of Bucha for weeks.

On April 2, a video taken from a moving car was posted online by a Ukrainian lawyer showing those same bodies scattered along Yablonska Street in Bucha. Other Western media had similar reports.

At least 13 bodies were located in and around a building that residents said was used as a base for Russian troops before they retreated last week. Yet Russian officials and state-media have continued to promote their own narrative, parroting it in newspapers and on radio and television.