Satellite images reveal civilians were killed in Bucha more than 3 weeks ago

​A New York Times analysis has revealed that satellite images refute Russia's claim that the killing of civilians in Bucha occurred after the Russian soldiers had left the Ukrainian town. When images emerged over the weekend of the bodies of dead civilians lying on the streets of Bucha, Russia's ministry of defense denied responsibility.

The ministry suggested that the bodies had been recently placed on the streets after "all Russian units withdrew completely from Bucha" around March 30.

However, a review of videos and satellite imagery by the times shows that many of the civilians were killed more than three weeks ago, when Russia's military was in control of the town.

One video filmed by a local council member on April 1 shows multiple bodies scattered along Yablonska street in Bucha.

Satellite images by Maxar technologies show that at least 11 of those had been on the street since March 11, when Russia occupied the town.

To confirm when the bodies appeared, and when the civilians were likely killed, the visual investigations team at the times conducted a before-and-after analysis of satellite imagery.

The images show dark objects of similar size to a human body appearing on Yablonska street between March 9 and March 11.

The objects appear in the precise positions in which the bodies were found after Ukrainian forces reclaimed Bucha, as the footage from April 1 shows. further analysis shows that the objects remained in those positions for over three weeks.