Bucha victims remembered as Ukrainians mark 4 years since Russia's all-out invasion

Описание: (24 Feb 2026)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Bucha, Ukraine - 24 February 2026
1. Various of Bucha resident standing during the national anthem on the cemetery of fallen Ukrainian soldiers  
2. Close up of flags on the graves
3. Various of people putting flowers on graves
4. Wide of 67-year-old Petro Mazin standing near the grave of his son, fallen Ukrainian soldier Serhii Mazin
5. Close up of mother sitting next to the grave of her son
6. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Petro Mazin, 67, Ukrainian war veteran, Bucha resident: 
"Four years have passed, and it seems like it was yesterday. What can you feel, sadness, pain for the dead who died defending the state and how many more there will be - it is not known when the war will end. Today, there is no end in sight. But we should not give up, we will definitely win anyway."
7. Close up of portrait on Mazin's grave
8. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Petro Mazin, 67, Ukrainian war veteran, Bucha resident: 
"My son, who died during the war, is buried here. But not only today, but for four years now, my wife and I have been coming here every day."
9. Various of people standing during the memorial service near the monument of killed civilian Bucha residents 
10. Close up of Andrii Holovin, Bucha priest, standing on the memorial service
11. Close up of a damaged church
12. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Andrii Holovin, 67, Bucha priest:
"For us, the memory of those people who died is very important. We will never stop remembering them. These are our relatives, our loved ones, separation from them is a great tragedy for us, but at the same time it is important for us that the world sees what is happening. Unfortunately, the trends are not very good now, when both the invader and the one who suffers from aggression are put on the same scale. As a church, we pray for peace, but for a just peace."
13. Various of woman whose son was killed by Russian troops standing next to the memory wall of killed Bucha residents
14. SOUNDBITE (Ukrainian) Andrii Holovin, 67, Bucha priest:
"Nobody gave us a chance. It's been four years since the three days that the Russians tried to take Kyiv. Nobody gave us a chance, but with God's help, we are fighting until now. Therefore, I hope that the time will come when the darkness will disappear from our state of Ukraine and the sun of truth will shine for you and me."
15. Various of people putting flowers om the memorial of killed Bucha residents 
16. Close up of names of killed Bucha residents 
17. Various of Holovin praying inside the church
STORYLINE:
The Ukrainian city of Bucha on Tuesday commemorated its residents, who were killed by Russia's military soon after they invaded, on the fourth anniversary of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine.

Russian troops quickly occupied Bucha after invading Ukraine and stayed for about a month.

When Ukrainian troops retook the town, they found what became known as the epicenter of the war’s atrocities.

Dozens of bodies of men, women and children lay on the streets, in yards and homes, and in mass graves.

Some showed signs of torture. Day after day, body collectors found the dead in basements, lying in doorways, deep in the woods.

Dozens of Bucha residents gathered Tuesday near the church where the mass graves of local civilians were found in 2022.

They placed flowers at the memorial with names of those killed.

422 bodies were found after the liberation of Bucha.

The youngest was 1.5 years-old, and the oldest about 100 years-old, said Bucha priest Andrii Holovin, who stayed there during the occupation.






AP Video shot by Vasilisa Stepanenko




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