A citizen of the Czech Republic was among three men found dead in a pit with bullet wounds on May 17 in the town of Makariv in Kyiv Oblast, the regional police chief Andriy Nyebytov said on his YouTube channel.
The town is in the Bucha district of Kyiv Oblast where some of the worst Russian atrocities were discovered following the invading forces’ one-month occupation of the area.
Local authorities have said that more than 1,200 civilians were killed during that period and that about 650 had gunshot wounds. Many bodies also had signs of torture and sexual violence.
In Makariv, a Kyiv satellite city, the two dead men found in the pit were shot in the head while one victim was shot in the stomach, Nyebytov said.
The area is being treated as a crime scene, he added while saying that a trip line with an F-1 grenade was found near the burial site.
After liberating the surrounding Kyiv suburbs in early April, Ukrainian forces found many booby traps in the area attached to even toys and simple household items with land mines littering the surrounding terrain.
The regional police chief said the Czech citizen’s identification documents were on his person and that he was a truck driver before Feb. 24 when Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered a renewed invasion of Ukraine.
The unidentified Czech became a “volunteer” when the fighting starting, Nyebytov said, adding that on March 3 communication with him ceased.
The Czech national was 49 years old and is survived by his wife and brother in the Czech Republic, the police chief said.
The Ukrainian service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty said the Czech embassy hasn’t commented on the discovery.
Kyiv is seeking to prosecute Russian military personnel for war crimes and crimes against humanity. The legislatures of Lithuania, Estonia and the Czech Republic have passed resolutions designating Russian actions in Ukraine as genocidal acts.
U.S. President Joe Biden and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky have described Russia’s actions and policies in Ukraine as genocidal.
