Bucha survivors and Ukrainians reject a US-backed peace plan offering amnesty to Russian troops, fearing it rewards impunity and ignores the trauma of 2022 “atrocities”.
Mass graves, shattered churches and the lingering trauma of occupation still define daily life in Bucha. But as survivors continue to reckon with the horrors of 2022, a new threat has stirred fresh anger across Ukraine: a US-backed peace plan that would reportedly grant a sweeping post-war amnesty to Russian troops and officials accused of atrocities.
For many Ukrainians, the proposal feels less like a path to peace than, as one priest in Bucha put it, “a green light for more bombing, killing”, a move they fear could reward impunity and deepen the wounds of a country still fighting for justice and sovereignty.
In Bucha, where hundreds of civilians were killed in 2022, survivors view the proposed amnesty not as reconciliation but as a fresh blow. Their unease mirrors a wider national concern about the implications of clearing Russia, and its military and officials, of alleged crimes.
The Church of Andrew the Apostle stands beside a mass grave where civilians — some shot in the streets, others showing signs of torture — were buried, a stark reminder of the horrors many fear could be overlooked under the proposed deal.
Father Andriy Halavin, who leads the parish in the still-damaged church, said any amnesty would legitimise further violence as the war grinds on.
“It’s a green light,” he said after holding Sunday service. “It means you can keep bombing, keep executing soldiers, all with confidence that nothing will happen.”
The mass killings were uncovered when Russian forces withdrew from the area after their failed attempt to seize Kyiv during the full-scale invasion in 2022.
Father Andriy said many perpetrators have already been identified. Justice, he insisted, is not about revenge but about proving that accountability still matters — especially as Ukrainians are being asked to weigh painful trade-offs for peace.
The proposed 28-point peace deal followed secret negotiations by envoys of Russia and U.S. President Donald Trump.
Ukraine would relinquish territory beyond land currently controlled by Moscow, reduce its military, and give up on NATO membership. In return, Kyiv would receive international security guarantees and reconstruction assistance.
At Bucha’s military cemetery, Vira Katanenko, 66, visited the grave of her son Andrii, who was killed in battle in the Donetsk region last year. For her, the peace plan and the proposed amnesty are unthinkable.
“I can’t accept that,” she said. “They want forgiveness for all war crimes, including Bucha? That’s horrifying. Let them come here — let Trump himself come here. Let him and his family come, see our pain, and maybe then they’ll change their minds.”
European leaders insist peace talks must include Ukraine and protect its sovereignty.
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelenskyy says the plan represents one of the war’s most difficult moments, pledging to work with Washington but to seek changes.
A short drive from Bucha, mourners gathered for the funeral of serviceman Ruslan Zhyhunov, a 41-year-old machine gunner killed in eastern Ukraine.
Uncertainty surrounding the peace plan weighed heavily among relatives and neighbors as they watched the burial in the rain — another reminder, they said, of how fragile any promised future now feels.
“How can you exchange the territory of your ancestors for something? For what?” asked Andrii Honcharuk, a 71-year-old retired territorial defense volunteer, who attended the service dressed in uniform. “The war will not end soon. We will still be dying for a long time.”
With inputs from AP.
End of Article
