Ukraine smashes Russia in daring bombing raid to kill 'butchers of Bucha'

 Ukrainian forces have reportedly killed three Russians responsible for the Bucha killings in 2022, which left left hundreds of civilians dead. The military intelligence unit (GUR) said the "Butchers of Bucha" were wiped out in bombings in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region. They were targeted while operating as a mobile air defence group to cover a Russian military repair base.

Ukrainian officials said: "In 2022, [these dead] Russian occupiers directly took part in committing war crimes in the city of Bucha. The detonation was in the yard of an apartment building where six Russian invaders were staying with their military transport. As a result of the explosion, two enemy pickups with machine guns were destroyed, one landed with ammunition. There will be just retribution for every war crime committed against the Ukrainian people."

According to local authorities, 458 bodies have been recovered from Bucha since the massacre, including nine children under the age of 18.

Among the victims, 419 people were killed with weapons and 39 appeared to have died of natural causes, possibly related to the Russian occupation.

The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights documented the unlawful killings, including summary executions, of at least 73 civilians.

Colonel Azatbek Omurbekov is the man who reportedly oversaw the massacre in Bucha, and he has since been honoured by Vladimir Putin. He was given the title of "Hero of the Russian Federation".

Shocking photos showed corpses of civilians, lined up with their hands bound behind their backs, shot at close range.

An inquiry by Radio Free Europe reported the use of a basement beneath a campground as a torture chamber. Many bodies were found mutilated and burnt.

Ukraine has asked the International Criminal Court to investigate what happened in Bucha as part of its ongoing investigation of the invasion to determine whether a series of Russian war crimes or crimes against humanity were committed.