World
Echoes of war crimes: a journey to the horrors of Bucha
![Echoes of war crimes: a journey to the horrors of Bucha Echoes of war crimes: a journey to the horrors of Bucha](https://static.euronews.com/articles/stories/06/72/30/88/1000x563_cmsv2_67fcfdc1-300e-53c5-ac6b-3fc996c96d0f-6723088.jpg)
After witnessing first hand the outbreak of Russia’s conflict in Ukraine, I travelled again to Kyiv a number of weeks later to discover a very completely different environment. Life within the capital was slowly resuming after the withdrawal of the Russian military.
However regardless of the glimmers of hope, I knew the sight of individuals strolling down the streets once more, the intense beds of tulips that had blossomed on Maidan Sq., would stand in stark distinction with the grim scenes that awaited me on the town’s outskirts.
I had come again to doc the conflict crimes allegedly dedicated by the Russian troops proper earlier than they retreated from the occupied space (Russia denies any involvement within the killings).
What was quiet suburbs and villages exterior of Kyiv had was mountains of ruins, behind which lay the open wounds of these pressured to reside by weeks of horror.
Strolling me by his neighbourhood of Irpin, Sasha described the nightmare of watching the abstract executions of a number of of his fellow residents. I noticed the look on his face when he confirmed me the precise spot the place he noticed his pal Sania was shot within the head by a Russian soldier.
It will have been Sania’s birthday that day.
As I continued the journey by the unspeakable, the accounts of those that dared share their tales with me grew solely extra horrific.
In Borodyanka, I witnessed one of many many exhumations of civilian our bodies that had been quickly buried in yards and gardens in the course of the occupation.
“Take a look at how good-looking he was!” cried out Nadiya, exhibiting me an image of her 34 year-old-son Constantin, whose physique was now mendacity at our toes, unrecognisable. Nadiya’s tears flowed on the insufferable sight of her son’s face, his mouth gaping in a grimace of ache.
Shifting on previous the carcasses of burned-out automobiles piled up alongside the roads, we stopped within the village of Andriivka, which had been below Moscow’s management for a month.
The principle avenue was strewn with remnants of Russian weaponry, nails from fragmentation bombs and shell casings, some nonetheless unexploded. There I talked to Mykola, a soft-spoken farmer grieving for his son, who was shot down on the street.
“They stated he was passing on info by his cellphone in regards to the Russian tank column’s place,” he stated. “They’re beasts! It’s not a military! A military would not assault youngsters and grandmothers, however they do!”
Livid, he went on: “They had been youngsters, 18 years outdated. A few of them had been crying, saying they did not need to come right here, that they had been pressured to, and instructed it was just for two days, to coach!”
‘They raped her and slit her throat’
The tales of atrocities stored coming. In Makariv, we had been known as to a different exhumation: the stays of a household who had been burned to demise of their automotive whereas making an attempt to flee the town by a so-called ‘inexperienced hall’.
In that horrible place, a person took our crew apart. He wished us to satisfy a girl dwelling close by who says she was raped by a Russian soldier.
We discovered her at work on the native hospital. The girl, who for safety considerations selected to stay nameless, wished to inform us her story so the entire world would know.
Her voice broke as she described the crime, and he or she wept as she remembered the agony of her husband, shot useless whereas making an attempt to return to her rescue. Not till a group of Russian intelligence forces handed by her home was she free of her tormenter.
“After the liberation,” she stated in a whisper, “I realized that those that did this to me had caught one other girl. They raped her and slit her throat. If it weren’t for the Russian intelligence males, I’d not be alive.”
Uncommon braveness on the a part of victims
The trauma and concern are such that few rape victims are prepared to testify, stated Larisa, a lawyer serving to a number of Ukrainian ladies who had been raped by Russian troopers.
Amongst her shoppers had been a mom and daughter, raped by a number of troopers over a number of days in entrance of each other’s eyes.
Their palms had been damaged by their aggressors, making it inconceivable for them to defend themselves or escape. Their case is one in every of many who signifies rape was systemically used as a weapon of conflict, Larisa stated.
‘I can’t hold silent’
The conflict will hang-out Olga ceaselessly.
She now lives alone along with her sorrow in a home in Bucha, the place the place the most notorious and stunning atrocities so far had been found following the Russian withdrawal.
In a sluggish and regular voice, Olga recalled how her husband, final seen popping out of a meals distribution centre in the course of the occupation, was discovered ten days later in a morgue “They broke his cranium, they broke his bones,” she instructed me.
Unravelling her reminiscences, Olga went on, describing the roar of gunfire and explosions, the procession of Russian tanks, the sheer terror of all of it.
“They killed, they tortured, they did such horrible issues!” she cried, hiding her face in her palms. “They stated they got here to liberate us, however from who, and from what?
“They liberated us from life itself. I look ahead to my husband to return again residence from work day-after-day. However he won’t ever come again.”
It was not solely Olga, her pale blue eyes gazing into an infinite area as her phrases died within the thick of our silence, who wept speaking to me that day.
Twenty-year-old Tetiana, one other Bucha resident, is not going to enable silence to fall on what occurred to her mom, shot between the eyes by a Russian sniper in entrance of her and her father.
Tetiana discovered the energy to take us to the crime scene. Between gasps for air, she described the gunshot, her mom’s fall, and the blood splashed everywhere in the asphalt.
“I can’t hold silent,” she instructed me. “I would like the world to know what occurred. Possibly in the future we are going to know who did it. And so there will probably be justice.”
Greater than 11,000 circumstances of conflict crimes allegedly dedicated by Russian troopers towards Ukrainian civilians have been registered by the Workplace of the Normal Prosecutor in Ukraine up to now.
A number of prosecutions have already been launched towards Russian troopers, and on Monday a 21-year-old tank commander turned the primary to be sentenced to life in jail for killing an unarmed civilian.
Because the conflict rages on, the listing of victims grows daily.
Again in France to edit my documentary, I consider Tetiana, Olga, Sasha, Dariya, Mykalo and the numerous others who went by unspeakable ordeals. I hope my brief work will probably be a small contribution to their quest for reality and justice.
This piece is a part of The Briefing, Euronews’ weekly political publication. Signal as much as The Briefing.
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World
Federal investigators start probe of bus crash in Mississippi that killed 7, injured dozens more
BOVINA, Miss. (AP) — Investigators with the National Transportation Safety Board on Sunday were at the scene of a bus crash in Mississippi that killed seven people and injured dozens of others.
They plan to look at how well the tires were maintained, NTSB member Todd Inman said at a news conference late Saturday. The NTSB previously said the crash was caused by tire failure.
The 2018 Volvo bus was traveling westbound on Interstate 20 near Bovina in Warren County early Saturday morning when it left the roadway and overturned, according to the Mississippi Highway Patrol. No other vehicle was involved.
Six people aboard were pronounced dead at the scene and another died at a hospital, according to a highway patrol news release. Thirty-six people were taken by ambulance to hospitals.
The highway patrol did not immediately have an update on their conditions Sunday.
The dead included a 6-year-old boy and his 16-year-old sister, according to Warren County Coroner Doug Huskey. They were identified by their mother. Authorities were working to identify the other victims, he said.
The bus was traveling from Atlanta to Dallas with 41 passengers and two drivers, the highway patrol said.
Inman said the NTSB will also look at the carrier’s safety record and protections for bus occupants.
The bus was operated by Autobuses Regiomontanos. A woman who answered the phone at its Laredo, Texas, office said it was aware of the crash, but she didn’t answer questions or provide her name.
The transit company says it has 20 years of experience providing cross-border trips between 100 destinations in Mexico and the U.S. Its website promotes “a modern fleet of buses that receive daily maintenance,” and offers “trips with a special price for workers.”
World
American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 5 others 'brutally murdered' by Hamas right before rescue: IDF
![American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 5 others 'brutally murdered' by Hamas right before rescue: IDF American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin, 5 others 'brutally murdered' by Hamas right before rescue: IDF](https://static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/hersh.png)
Hamas terrorists killed six hostages Saturday, including Israeli-American Hersh Goldberg-Polin, as Israel Defense Forces closed in for a rescue attempt in the tunnels deep below Gaza’s Rafah.
Goldberg-Polin’s family confirmed his death early Sunday. His body was one of six recovered on Saturday. The IDF revealed that Hamas killed the hostages, who had been held for nearly 11 months, just as they were on the brink of freedom.
“According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them,” IDF spokesperson Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement.
Goldberg-Polin, 23, was abducted at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack against the Jewish State. He lost part of his left arm to a grenade in the attack. His body was recovered Saturday in the tunnels under Rafah, along with Carmel Gat, Eden Yerushalmi, Alexander Lobanov, Almog Sarusi and Master Sergeant Ori Danino.
DEFENSE MINISTER SAYS ISRAEL MUST ‘WIDEN THE GOALS’ OF WAR TO RETURN RESIDENTS TO THE NORTH
Israeli-American hostage Hersh Goldberg-Polin has been confirmed dead. (Israel’s Minister of Defense)
Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu said, “He who murders abductees – does not want a deal. We are in a difficult day. The heart of the entire nation was torn.”
“Along with all the citizens of Israel, I was shocked to the core by the terrible cold-blooded murder of six of our abductees.”
Israeli President Isaac Herzog said he “embrace[s] their families with all my heart, and apologize[s] for failing to bring them home safely.”
A dual U.S.-Israeli citizen, Goldberg-Polin immigrated to Israel with his family in 2008 at the age of seven, according to a statement from his family. He leaves behind his parents, Jon Polin and Rachel Goldberg, and his two sisters.
Goldberg-Polin’s family and friends traveled the world demanding his release and met with world leaders, including officials in the Biden administration.
President Biden said he is “devastated and outraged” by the news of Goldberg-Polin’s death.
“It is as tragic as it is reprehensible,” he said. “Make no mistake, Hamas leaders will pay for these crimes. And we will keep working around the clock for a deal to secure the release of the remaining hostages.”
Vice President Harris, also the Democratic nominee for president, said her prayers are with Goldberg-Polin’s loved ones as they mourn his loss.
“Hamas is an evil terrorist organization,” Harris said. “With these murders, Hamas has even more American blood on its hands. I strongly condemn Hamas’ continued brutality, and so must the entire world. From its massacre of 1,200 people to sexual violence, taking of hostages, and these murders, Hamas’ depravity is evident and horrifying.”
ISRAEL KILLS PALESTINIAN COMMANDER MUHAMMAD JABER ‘ABU SHUJAA’ AS FIGHTING INTENSIFIES: IDF
![Hersh Goldberg-Polin](https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2024/09/1200/675/polin.png?ve=1&tl=1)
Goldberg-Polin, 23, was abducted at a music festival in southern Israel during Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack. (IDF)
“The threat Hamas poses to the people of Israel — and American citizens in Israel — must be eliminated and Hamas cannot control Gaza,” she added. “The Palestinian people too have suffered under Hamas’ rule for nearly two decades.”
“A few hours ago, we informed the families that the bodies of their loved ones had been located by IDF troops in an underground tunnel in Rafah,” IDF Spokesperson, Rear Admiral Daniel Hagari said in a statement. “According to our initial assessment, they were brutally murdered by Hamas terrorists shortly before we reached them.”
Fox News’ Yonat Friling contributed to this report.
World
Photos: Mass polio vaccination drive kicks off in Gaza amid Israeli strikes
![Photos: Mass polio vaccination drive kicks off in Gaza amid Israeli strikes Photos: Mass polio vaccination drive kicks off in Gaza amid Israeli strikes](https://www.aljazeera.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/AFP__20240901__36F32UL__v1__Preview__PalestinianIsraelConflictHealth-1725178114.jpg?resize=1200%2C630)
Palestinian health authorities and United Nations agencies on Sunday began a vaccination drive against polio in the Gaza Strip, hoping to prevent an outbreak in the territory ravaged by nearly 11 months of Israeli bombardment.
Authorities plan to vaccinate children in central Gaza until Wednesday before moving to the more devastated northern and southern parts of the Strip, aiming to inoculate about 640,000 children. On Saturday, a few children were vaccinated before the formal start of the campaign.
“This is the first few hours of the first phase of a massive campaign, one of the most complex in the world,” said Juliette Touma, communications director of UNRWA, the United Nations Palestinian refugee agency.
“Today is test time for parties to the conflict to respect these area pauses to allow the UNRWA teams and other medical workers to reach children with these very precious two drops. It’s a race against time,” Touma told the Reuters news agency.
Israel and Hamas, which have so far failed to conclude a deal to end the war, said they would cooperate to allow the campaign to succeed.
The World Health Organization said on Thursday that Israel has agreed to limited pauses in its military operations to facilitate the campaign. There were initial reports of Israeli strikes in central Gaza early on Sunday, but it was not immediately known if anyone was killed or wounded.
Hospitals in Deir el-Balah and Nuseirat confirmed that the campaign had begun on Sunday. Israel said on Saturday that the vaccination programme would continue through September 9 and last eight hours a day.
The vaccinations will be held at some 160 sites across the territory, including medical centres and schools. Children below 10 years of age will receive two drops of oral polio vaccine in two rounds, the second to be administered four weeks after the first.
Gaza recently reported its first polio case in 25 years – a 10-month-old boy, now paralysed in the leg. The WHO says the presence of a paralysis case indicates there could be hundreds more who have been infected but are not showing symptoms.
Most affected children do not experience symptoms and those who do usually recover in a week or so, the UN health agency said. There is no cure for polio, it can only be prevented. When polio causes paralysis, it is usually permanent. The disease can be fatal if the paralysis affects breathing muscles.
The vaccination campaign faces a host of challenges, from ongoing war to devastated roads and hospitals shut down by the war. About 90 percent of Gaza’s population of 2.3 million people have been displaced within the besieged territory, with hundreds of thousands crammed into squalid tent camps.
Health officials have expressed alarm about disease outbreaks as rubbish piles up and the bombing of critical infrastructure has sent putrid water flowing through the streets. Widespread hunger has left people even more vulnerable to illness.
“We escaped death with our children and fled from place to place for the sake of our children, and now we have these diseases,” said Wafaa Obaid, who brought her three children to Al-Aqsa Martyrs Hospital in Deir el-Balah for vaccination.
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