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Amnesty International said on Friday it had documented extensive war crimes by Russian forces in Ukraine, including extrajudicial killings, torture and bombardment of civilian homes.
Investigator Donatella Rovera said these were "not isolated incidents ... these are very much part of a pattern wherever Russian forces were in control of a town or village".
The charity's findings are the latest to allege atrocities by Russian forces in areas near Kyiv, which they occupied in the early weeks of the war before refocusing their invasion on eastern Ukraine.
Grisly images of dead bodies in the streets of Bucha and other towns caused global revulsion after they came to light last month, prompting additional sanctions on Russia and calls for greater military support for Ukraine.
Ukrainian authorities say they are investigating more than 9,000 potential war crimes by Russian troops. The International Criminal Court is also looking into alleged atrocities.
The evidence collected by Amnesty and published on Friday "can be used, hopefully, for holding the perpetrators to account, if not today, one day in the future", Ms Rovera said.
Amnesty's 44-page report says survivors found dead bodies with their hands tied behind their backs and bullet holes in their heads. One witness reported three men being shot after having their hands up and their bodies dragged away to a roadside where investigators found Russian military rations.
A bereaved widow quoted by Amnesty described Russian soldiers looting apartments, tying up her family and hitting her husband with their rifle butts before eventually killing him. Investigators said photos of the body suggested extensive bruising and said other victims had been beaten and tortured.
One victim in Bucha was named as Yevhen Petrashenko, 43, a sales manager, who was allegedly killed in his kitchen while his wife and children were hiding in the basement. It said Russian troops allowed his wife, Tatiana, to enter the apartment, where she found her husband’s body.
Their neighbour Leonid Bodnarchuk, 44, a construction worker, was shot dead by Russian soldiers as he climbed the stairs, and the military hen threw a grenade into the stairwell, Amnesty said. It said its findings were based on dozens of interviews as well as documentary evidence.
Killings in Bucha were carried out with special rifles used by some Russian units, the report said. Investigators found 7N12 armour-piercing rounds with a 9x39mm black tip, which are used by elite units of the Russian army, at the scene.
The investigation also described attacks on the city of Borodyanka, in which at least 40 people were reported killed in bombings that destroyed eight residential buildings.
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Family members mourn at the graveside of soldier Yuri Varyanytsia during the burial of three soldiers in the Field of Mars at Lychakiv cemetery in Lviv, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A pedestrian takes a picture as she walks past the wreckage of a Russian armoured vehicle outside the National Museum of Military History of Ukraine in Kyiv. AFP -
A man rides his bicycle over a heavily damaged bridge near Pechenegi village in the Kharkiv region, amid the Russian invasion of Ukraine. AFP -
Pro-Russian troops fire from a tank near the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol. Reuters -
Workers sew uniforms and material for flack jackets at a military clothing factory in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A dog provides company at a flat damaged by a missile attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Patron, a dog trained by Ukrainian forces to sniff out explosives, near Kyiv. EPA -
Lone skater Roman Kovalenko, 18, amid the damage at Peace Square in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. All of his friends have fled. AFP -
A Ukrainian sapper carries unexploded materiel during demining works at an airport in the town of Hostomel, north-west of Kyiv. AFP -
Shelling of the Azovstal steel plant complex in Mariupol. Reuters -
Violinist Irene Duval rehearses before a fundraiser to support Ukrainians arriving in the UK, at the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral in London. PA -
A serviceman stands guard at the destroyed Ukrainian Antonov An-225 'Mriya' cargo aircraft in Hostomel. AFP -
Galina Malets falls to her knees before the funeral service for her brother, fallen soldier Igor Malets, 59, in Lviv. Getty -
Explosions at the Azovstal steel plant in besieged Mariupol, where Ukrainian forces continue to hold out against Russian invaders. AFP -
A Ukrainian woman collects her belongings after her apartment was damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
An apartment block damaged by a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Devastation around an apartment block hit by a missile in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
Ukrainian men at the site of a missile explosion in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
An elderly refugee from Avdiivka, eastern Ukraine, at a lunch provided by church group Awakening in Pokrovsk. AFP -
Natalia Rudneva, 59, was injured in overnight shelling in Kramatorsk, Ukraine, that put her son in hospital. AP -
Shocked occupants of an apartment building in Kramatorsk, Donbas, that was destroyed by overnight shelling . AP -
A man outside his house in Mariupol, in territory under the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic, eastern Ukraine. The sign reads 'Bomb shelter, children'. AP -
A woman passes Donetsk People's Republic militia tanks in Mariupol, eastern Ukraine. AP -
A refugee camp outside Mariupol, in territory controlled by the government of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic. AP -
The damaged St Godmothers Cover Church next to a bullet-riddled Ukrainian flag in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images -
St Godmothers Cover Church, in Malyn, Ukraine. Getty Images -
The ruins of an apartment building in Borodianka, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Firefighters from the self-declared Donetsk People Republic Emergency Situations Ministry battle a blaze at an oil depot after missiles struck the facility in an area controlled by Russian-backed separatist forces in Makiivka, 15 kilometres east of Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. AP -
People wait for Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy to begin a speech televised on a screen in City Hall Square in Copenhagen, Denmark. Reuters -
An aerial view of the destroyed Hotel Ukraine in the northern city of Chernigiv. AFP -
A woman who recently lost her husband arrives with her dog at a charity centre in Pokrovsk, eastern Ukraine. AFP -
A family of Ukrainian evacuees near a donation collection point in Zaporizhzhia, Ukraine. Reuters -
The ruins of a residential building in the northern Ukrainian city of Chernigiv, which was heavily damaged during the Russian invasion. AFP -
People pay their respects during the funeral for Ukrainian serviceman Ruslan Borovyk in St Michael's Cathedral in Kyiv. AP -
Crew chiefs and engineers with the 158th Fighter Wing meet before launching F-35A Lightning II fifth-generation aircraft at the Vermont Air National Guard Base, South Burlington, US. More than 200 Vermont air guard personnel, plus equipment and eight F-35s, are now in Europe. AP -
Svitlana, 36, holds her sons Artem, 7, and Kyrylo, 5, while sheltering in a kindergarten in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
Men report to enlist in Ukrainian Territorial Defence Force units in Kryvyi Rih, Ukraine. Getty Images -
A burning oil storage unit on the outskirts of Donetsk, Ukraine. Reuters -
Russian MiG-29SMT jet fighters, forming the symbol Z in support of Russian military action in Ukraine, fly over Red Square in Moscow during a rehearsal for the Second World War Victory Parade on May 9, 2022. AFP -
A warehouse after shelling in Severodonetsk, as fighting rages across Ukraine's east after a US warning that Moscow is preparing to formally annex eastern regions. AFP -
Katya, 11, waits for her mother's treatment to end at the Severodonetsk Hospital in Severodonetsk. AFP -
Antonina, 60, at a funeral home where she works and now lives with neighbours in Severodonetsk. AFP -
A Russian serviceman patrols a street near the sea port of Berdyansk, Ukraine. AFP -
A woman during the rally in front of Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy's office in Kyiv. AFP -
Svitlana Karpenko, 53, at what is left of her house in Sloboda, Chernihiv region, Ukraine. She said it was destroyed by shelling. Reuters -
The turret from a destroyed Russian tank stuck in the ground in Zalissia, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Lyubov Lenko, 61, in front of her house in Budy, Chernihiv region, Ukraine, that she says was destroyed by shelling. Reuters -
Nina Stefuryak, 2, playing in a park in front of a building destroyed by shelling in Borodianka, Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters -
Mealtime at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP -
Volunteers assist a man after his arrival from Mariupol at a centre for displaced people in Zaporizhzhia. AP -
People disembark a van to be registered by police after arriving in Zaporizhzhia. Getty Images -
Firefighters damp down the ashes of a fire that destroyed a children's play area in Gorky Park in Kharkiv, Ukraine. EPA -
A woman touches a piano as she inspects the damage in a classroom after shelling at Kharkiv National Kotlyarevsky University of Arts. EPA -
US President Joe Biden and Lockheed Martin chief executive Jim Taiclet with Javelin anti-tank missile assembly workers during a tour of a Lockheed Martin weapons factory in Troy, Alabama, US. Reuters -
Residents collect humanitarian aid in Borodyanka, Ukraine. Getty Images
It quoted Borodyanka resident Vasyl Yaroshenko, who said he had left his multi-storey residence for his garage when a bomb hit the house.
“I saw a large gap in the building,” he said, according to the report. “My wife Halina was among those killed. I still see her by the door of our apartment, the home where we lived for 40 years.”
Researchers also found evidence suggesting that specific units of the Russian army were involved, including training books that belonged to a driver from the 104th regiment of the Airborne Forces.
Kyiv regional governor Oleksandr Pavlyuk has said that at least 1,235 civilian bodies have been found in the area. Russia denies war crimes and says the images from Bucha are a fabrication, but satellite images released by western powers suggested the dead bodies appeared on Russia's watch.
“The pattern of crimes committed by Russian forces that we have documented includes unlawful attacks and wilful killings of civilians,” said Amnesty's secretary general, Agnes Callamard.
“We have met families whose loved ones were killed in horrific attacks, and whose lives have changed for ever because of the Russian invasion," she said. “It is vital that all those responsible, including up the chain of command, are brought to justice.”
