After pushing to gain control of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, on March 29th, 2022, Russian troops retreated north. Although this may seem like a relief, the effects it had on Bucha show otherwise. Bucha, a city about 40 miles north of Kyiv, has been under the attack of Russian forces for over a month. 

As the Russians left, they stormed many of the cities they went through on the way. According to the mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk, the results of the Russians leaving led to the execution of about 300 of the city’s residents, in addition to members of the volunteer army many Ukrainians joined when the war started. These killings weren’t just against those actively fighting against the Russians; for example, Russian soldiers tried to burn at least one man and three naked women who had no relation to the army before fleeing. The effects of the Russians’ attacks were seen not only in the death of citizens but also in the destruction of buildings. When residents of the Bucha area were asked about what had happened, many recalled Russian armed vehicles randomly firing into buildings in the city and refusing to give medical aid to injured civilians. These chilling reports along with many others that gained media attention did not go unnoticed to lawmakers and politicians all over the world.

After seeing the disturbing images of death in Bucha, the Chinese government officials reacted by acknowledging the gruesomeness of the situation, “The relevant circumstances and specific causes of the incident should be verified and established,” Zhang Jun the Chinese representative to the U.S said in remarks to the Security Council on Tuesday, adding that, “before the full picture is clear, all sides should exercise restraint and avoid unfounded accusations.” The response came after historical Chinese hesitation to criticize Russia. This marks one of the first incidents that divided the usually pro-Russian country, for many believe Russia needs to be held accountable, and others agree with the government that more information should come out before any conclusions can be made.

In response to this tragedy, the U.S. has confronted Putin on the actions of the Russian army. President Biden, speaking on the recent discoveries in Bucha, called Putin a “war criminal” and deemed the killings “outrageous.” As a result of the massacres, Biden responded by threatening to hurt the Russians with more sanctions in the near future. Having the support of other American politicians along with England and the EU, the U.S. decided to call for Russia’s removal from the United Nations Human Rights Council.

The Ukrainians echoed the reaction from the Americans. Vitali Klitschko, the Mayor of Kyiv, also accussed Vladimir Putin of war crimes and said "what happened in Bucha and other suburbs of Kyiv can only be described as genocide.” As Klitschko mentioned, the killings and destruction of Bucha are also occurring in many other towns and cities throughout Ukraine and aren’t receiving the same amount of attention, but should not be forgotten. Volodymr Zelensky is trying his best to keep peace between Ukraine and Russia, but after discussing Bucha, he emphasized that if a “civilized solution can’t be found, a non-civilized solution will be found.” He believes the best way to stop this behavior is to encourage the press to continue to document the events in Bucha so the world can witness what happened there. 

Russian officials, following these accusations made by the Ukrainian and American government, claimed the Bucha masacres to be fake and set up by the Ukrainians. The Russians have been using these claims to help gain support of their army and actions within Russia. A report in Russia has been seen saying "Ukrainians directed a good show," with blurred images of the Ukrainian town. These messages come after expectations in Russia that the army would be able to take over Kyiv. To help keep spirits up in their home country, many Russian officials have announced that the reasons for leaving Kyiv were not because they were weak.

  Though the events in Bucha might be disheartening, the reactions from many countries show that this is a battle on which no one is willing to give up. There is hope that with the actions already being taken events like the Bucha massacre can be prevented in the future.