A RINGLEADER of the Bucha massacre has been unmasked – but he is just the “tip of the iceberg”, insiders say.
Yurii Vladimirovich Kim has been hit with a first-of-its-kind notice of suspicion over mounting evidence he was behind vile slaughters committed by his squad.
Investigators warn they are now “moving up the chain of command” – which could finally see Vladimir Putin‘s demise into accountability.
Jeremy Pizzi, legal advisor at Global Rights Compliance (GRC), told The Sun: “This immunity shield from foreign proceedings on core international crimes will cease to protect Putin once he leaves office.”
Bucha suffered one of the most horrific atrocities of the war – with more than 450 bodies, including nine children and 73 civilians, found across the city when barbaric Russian forces retreated in 2022.
Ukrainian police recovered almost 40 bodies along one street alone.
Many of the victims were found with their hands tied behind their backs and gunshot wounds to their heads.
Others were discovered dismembered, scalped, beheaded, or even having their eyes and tongues gouged out by the Russians.
Victims in the city close to Kyiv faced torture, sexual violence, and executions during almost one month of Russian occupation in the opening weeks of the war.
The UN said victims of sexual violence ranged in age from four to 82.
Most of the so-called Butchers of Bucha remain alive and free.
International law foundation GRC has been assisting Ukraine’s mission to track these sickos – and all those behind atrocities in the war-torn nation – and bring them to justice.
For the first time, a “notice of suspicion” has been issued against a commander suspected of being the driving force behind brutal murders in the Bucha massacre.
Grinning Kim, the commander of a platoon in the 76th Air Division, is believed to have ordered his troops to wilfully kill civilians – and treat others inhumanely.
Investigators say evidence shows multiple instances where Kim ordered his forces to hunt, harm, and kill individuals perceived as supporting or assisting Ukrainian armed or security forces.
The monster, 28, then ordered his subordinates to burn bodies to conceal their crimes, it is claimed.
Pizzi said the notice was given after a case was built using witness testimonies, crime scene reconstructions, identity parades, forensics, and open-source intelligence.’
He told The Sun: “This notice of suspicion concerns the alleged responsibility of a commander for ordering and acquiescing to their troops’ commission of violent crimes.
“It constitutes a reminder that those in positions of authority can be held liable no matter whether they were present at the literal scene of the crime.
“It serves as a building block to move up the chain of command towards all those responsible for devising and implementing criminal plans and policies.
“High-level Russian officials should very much feel concerned.”
Kim is alleged to be responsible for 17 killings and four instances of ill-treatment purposely committed by forces under his command.
Investigators say the “methodical and systemic” nature of crimes in Bucha and paralleled in other regions suggests it was part of a “national criminal plan” directed by senior officials – including Putin’s inner circle.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky previously called for Nuremberg-style trials for the perpetrators.
Pizzi added: “We remain at the tip of the iceberg when it comes to Ukrainian justice processes.
“The scale of criminality across the territory of Ukraine is so vast that it has taken Ukrainian authorities significant time to process available evidence.
“Now we can see initial results coming out of this painstaking undertaking, where we begin to go beyond direct perpetrators and assess the responsibility of those in command who devise, order, and implement criminal plans and policies.”
The notice to Kim, issued by Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General and the National Police of Ukraine, now paves the way for Vlad’s henchmen to be snared.
Pizzi said that while Putin himself has immunity from domestic proceedings concerning international crimes as a sitting head of state, the tyrant will be vulnerable from the moment he steps down.
He added: “Ukraine has full rights to thoroughly investigate Putin’s alleged responsibility for mass atrocity in order to prepare itself for the moment when immunities cease to provide a shield.
“This immunity shield from foreign proceedings on core international crimes will cease to protect Putin once he leaves office.”
