UKRAINIAN PRESIDENT VOLODYMYR Zelenskyy has vowed to defeat Russia as he made a visit to Bucha one year after Moscow’s troops withdrew from the town synonymous with war crimes allegations.

Zelenskyy today visited the town with several European leaders and said Ukraine would “never forgive” Moscow for its occupation of Bucha.

The Ukrainian president also labelled the discovery of the atrocities in Bucha as the “scariest day” of the war so far. 

When Bucha was de-occupied, the heinous truth about what was happening in the temporarily occupied territories was revealed to the world.
We will never forget the victims of this war, and we will certainly bring all Russian murderers to justice. pic.twitter.com/jyuVQ8VMvB

— Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) March 31, 2023

“The battle for the foundation of the free world is taking place on Ukrainian land. We will definitely win,” Zelenskyy said, according to AFP journalists on the scene.

He added: “Russian evil will fall, right here in Ukraine and will not be able to rise again.”

Zelenskyy also said Bucha had become “a symbol of the atrocities” committed by Russian forces, who have been linked to the extra-judicial killings of unarmed civilians in Bucha.

Russian troops are accused of massacring civilians in the quiet commuter town of Bucha, which they occupied for more than a month in early 2022.

The charred carcasses of military vehicles littered the streets after Russian troops withdrew on March 31, 2022, having failed to take the capital Kyiv.

In the days that followed the Russian withdrawal from Bucha on this day last year, the horrors inflicted on the town began to come to light.

Reporters discovered a street strewn with bodies of civilians, some with their hands tied behind their backs.

Ukraine and its Western allies have accused Russian troops of war crimes after the discoveries, pointing to an abundance of footage and witness accounts.

According to Ukrainian estimates, some 400 bodies of civilians were found in Bucha, near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, and more than 1,000 across the region, many in mass graves dug by locals to bury the dead as the fighting raged.

Ukrainian authorities said they have identified dozens of Russian soldiers responsible.

However, Moscow denies the accusations, claiming the atrocities in Bucha were staged.

‘Third world war looms’

It comes as Belarus president and close Kremlin ally Alexander Lukashenko today called for a “truce” in Ukraine and for talks “without preconditions” between Moscow and Kyiv.

“We must stop now, before an escalation begins. I’ll take the risk of suggesting an end of hostilities… a declaration of a truce,” Lukashenko said during a televised state of the nation address.

“All territorial, reconstruction, security and other issues can and should be settled at the negotiation table, without preconditions,” added Lukashenko, who has been in power since 1994.

However, he also said that Western support for Kyiv was increasing the likelihood of a nuclear war breaking out in Ukraine.

“As a result of the efforts of the United States and its satellites, a full-scale war has been unleashed in (Ukraine)… a third world war with nuclear fires looms on the horizon,” he said.

Belarus has allowed Russian forces to use its territory as a launchpad for Moscow’s offensive, but Lukashenko has so far refused to send troops over the border.

Over the weekend, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced plans to station tactical nuclear weapons in the Moscow-allied country, drawing condemnation from the West.

Belarus said it was forced to host Russian nuclear weapons because of “unprecedented” Western pressure, insisting their deployment did not violate international agreements.

- © AFP 2023