AP Journalist: Evidence of the Bucha Massacre Is Exceptionally Compelling

American investigative journalist Erika Kinetz of the Associated Press has said that the evidence of the mass killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha in March 2022 is exceptionally compelling, comprising video footage, intercepted phone calls of Russian soldiers, and numerous eyewitness accounts.

According to Ukrainian authorities, Russian troops killed more than 400 people in Bucha and the surrounding area of Kyiv region during the first weeks of the full-scale invasion — an episode Ukraine has classified as genocide. Russia denies any involvement in the mass killing of civilians.

CCTV Footage Captured the "Clean-up"

According to Kinetz, AP journalists gained access to CCTV recordings that captured, in real time, the Russian "clean-up" operation in the town. The team also obtained verified intercepts of phone calls in which Russian soldiers described in detail to their families back home what was happening in Bucha. All of this was supplemented by extensive eyewitness testimony.

The journalist noted that the findings of the investigation were shared with Russian authorities, who were given the opportunity to refute AP's conclusions — but no convincing counterarguments were ever provided.

The Problem Isn't the Facts — It's Distrust of Them

Kinetz believes the main danger of modern disinformation lies not in creating an alternative version of events, but in undermining people's very ability to think critically: propaganda makes people doubt the existence of objective truth itself. She emphasized that since the start of the Russian invasion, open-source intelligence (OSINT) communities have significantly raised the standards for collecting and preserving evidence of war crimes, with an eye toward ensuring the materials can be used in court.

The journalist also pointed to the enormous role played by satellite imagery, geolocation, and analysis of social media video — tools that turn ordinary people into a kind of witness to unfolding events and help verify information amid mass disinformation.

Experience Working in Authoritarian Countries

Besides Ukraine, Kinetz has covered events in China, India, Myanmar, and Cambodia. She said that working under authoritarian regimes made especially clear how vital a free and financially independent press is as a check on power — a function that, in her assessment, is weakening in many countries around the world under financial and political pressure.

Around Prague, based on reporting by novinky.cz