Clive Myrie confronts Russian ambassador in tense interview
Evidence of Russian war crimes in towns surrounding Kyiv has emerged after Putin’s troops were forced to withdraw following a failed attempt to besiege the capital of Ukraine. Andrey Kelin, the Russian ambassador to the UK, was confronted with evidence of murdered Bucha residents captured on CCTV in the town bordering Kyiv. The Russian ambassador denied the allegations of war crimes committed by Russian forces and declared the evidence had been fabricated using “a film or a piece of a game” to stain the international perception of Putin’s regime. BBC journalist Clive Myrie engaged in a heated debate with the Russian representative as he tried to explain that the footage had been verified and supported by civilian accounts of the devastation in Bucha.
Mr Myrie showed the Russian ambassador two pictures, side by side, that appeared to be still images of CCTV footage.
He explained the two images were of the same street in Bucha, one taken from the 28th of February and a second taken from the 19th of March, after Russian occupation.
Civilian bodies lining the streets in the second image had been highlighted with red squares in a clear yet grim reveal of Russian aggression against Ukrainian residents.
Mr Kelin denied the authenticity of the images as he said: “You show me something, probably a piece of a film or a piece of a game or a joke, it is a computer game -”
He was interrupted by the journalist who said: “This is CCTV footage from a building that has been corroborated.”
Andrey Kelin denied the clear evidence of Russian war crimes (Image: Screengrab BBC)
Bucha has been left littered with the remains of Russian artillery after troops withdrew (Image: GETTY)
As the interview continued, the Russian ambassador grew increasingly defensive of Russian military tactics as he continued to assert Putin’s troops had not committed any war crimes in Ukraine, specifically not in Bucha.
Me Kelin said: “If you are interested in this issue then you should understand that, after Russian troops left Bucha, for three days, no one found any one, any bodies, on the streets and there is a lot of evidence.
“After three days someone has come and discovered these bodies
“Can you imagine professional troops, Russian troops, they would step over the bodies for weeks and just leave them behind? For what? For the next provocation to be done by someone who has come in?
“I cannot believe it, frankly speaking, this is very unprofessional.”
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The victims of Russian aggression in the towns surrounding Kyiv have been buried in mass grave sites (Image: GETTY)
Bucha and neighbouring towns were overrun by Russian forces as the conflict began (Image: GETTY)
Mr Myrie was forced to defend the evidence he had gathered: “The BBC has verified the footage and I have been to Bucha and I have spoken to some of the residents, local people, who heard the gunshots.
“They corroborate each of the stories independently.
“I went to Jablonski street and I spoke to people in the neighbouring street and they heard the gunshots in a nearby school and in a couple of other buildings and in Jablonski street, which is where these pictures come from.
“So, again, why is Russia conducting this war in this way?”
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A car in Bucha with bullet holes in the windscreen despite the word “children” written on vehicle (Image: GETTY)
Mr Kelin responded: “The Mayor of Bucha in his initial statement, when it has been freed, has confirmed Russian troops have left, everything is clean and calm.
“The town or village, this town, is in a normal state, nothing is happening, no bodies are on the street.”
He claimed the CCTV images had been falsified in order to delay peace negotiations for the war and to damage the international image of Russia.
He continued: “All this evidence, in our view, it is a fabrication, it is used just to interrupt negotiations.”
Despite the assertions of Mr Kelin, an independent initial investigation by the United Nations has established evidence of Russian war crimes against Ukrainian civilians.
A UN human rights monitoring mission uncovered evidence of murdered civilians in Bucha alongside other towns surrounding Kyiv during a visit in May
Matilda Bogner, head of the mission, said: “In Bucha and other settlements to the north of Kyiv that were occupied by Russian armed forces, we have reports of the unlawful killing of over 300 men, women and children.
“Unfortunately, these numbers will continue to grow as we visit more areas.”
The most recent updates from the UN have recorded 8,462 civilian casualties of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
