Satellite images provide new details on mass grave in Bucha

Satellite imagery released Sunday provided new information about a mass grave in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, which has become a global focus due to shocking images of civilian deaths.

The images from Maxar Technologies indicated the gravesite was located at the Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints in the suburb of the capital Kyiv.

The company said that the first signs of excavation occurred on March 10, about two weeks into the war, while images from March 31 showed an approximately 45-foot long trench near the church.

Maxar Technologies also cited social media footage showing dozens of dead civilians being buried in mass the grave.

Bucha was the site of five weeks of firefights between Russian and Ukrainian forces before Moscow withdrew troops from the town as part what it says is a shift away from Kyiv.

The gruesome images and reports coming out of Bucha has sparked calls for harsher action against Russia for alleged war crimes.

“The Ukrainian city of Bucha was in the hands of [Russian] animals for several weeks. Local civilians were being executed arbitrarily, some with hands tied behind their backs, their bodies scattered in the streets of the city,” Ukraine’s defense ministry said in a statement.

Other satellite imagery from earlier this month showed the vast damage that Ukrainian cities have endured as a result of the attacks.

“Extensive damage is noted to the civilian infrastructure in and around the city, including residential homes, high-rise apartment buildings, grocery stores and shopping centers,” Maxar said in a statement about the city of Mariupol, which has endured heavy damages amid the invasion.

The satellite imagery has also been used to show developments like troop tents and military vehicles as well as a Russian military convoy outside Kyiv earlier in the attacks.