- Syria govt pledges 'rule of law' after Assad's overthrow
- 'No longer of this time': Miss Netherlands pageant scrapped
- Swiss central bank announces big rate cut to boost economy
- European stocks rise after surprise Swiss rate cut
- Cycling chiefs move to ban controversial carbon monoxide use
- Fourth suspect held in deadly Dutch building collapse
- Russians suffer rising costs of Ukraine conflict
- K-pop, carols, free food at South Korea impeachment protests
- Syrian whose selfie with Merkel went viral wants to stay in Germany
- Sweden ends rape investigation allegedly targeting Kylian Mbappe
- Israel condemned by media groups over Gaza journalist 'massacre'
- Sweden ends rape inquiry allegedly targeting Kylian Mbappe
- Gaza rescuers say Israel kills 33 in morning strikes
- Suspense mounts as Macron prepares to unveil new French PM
- 'Taste of love': Donkey milk cheese meets success in Albania
- Fears for the future as drug deaths among young Finns soar
- Nationalist minister tests Slovak culture, LGBT limits
- Blown off course, turbine giant Orsted seeks second wind
- Gisele Pelicot: France rape survivor who became a feminist hero
- Kevin Johnson: US boxer fighting for Putin's Russia
- How an ex-inmate of brutal Syria jail overcame trauma by helping others
- Hawks beat Knicks, Rockets down Warriors to reach NBA Cup semis
- 'Alarming' US mystery drones confound officials, scare locals
- Korean Air buys majority stake in rival Asiana Airlines
- Australia to force tech titans to pay for news
- Australia to force tech titans to pay for news shared on platforms
- Trump taps election denier to head global media operation VOA
- Tokyo to make day care free to boost birth rate
- Taiwan says detects 16 Chinese warships around island
- Asian markets fluctuate after Wall St record; eyes on China
- Vulnerable Afghans struggle as Taliban rebuild Kabul roads
- Amid weak eurozone and political turmoil, ECB to cut rates again
- South Korea's Yoon vows to fight 'until the very last minute'
- Australia to spend $385 mn on PNG rugby league team with eye on China
- Health insurers: the 800-pound gorilla in profit-driven US system
- Pope to champion popular Catholic traditions in Corsica
- Lithium-rich Bolivia lags behind in race to mine key metal
- Video game bosses gather at 'darkest hour' for industry
- Belichick inks deal to coach US college team: report
- Krakatoa Jardim Becomes the First Official Distributor of SYNLawn in Portugal
- Dortmund fear 'worst-case scenario' after Schlotterbeck injury
- Juve deepen Man City crisis, Barcelona into Champions League knockouts
- 'Incredible' Saka makes the difference for Arsenal: Arteta
- 'We want more', says Olmo with Barcelona bound for knock-outs
- Guardiola 'questioning self' after latest City loss at Juve
- Torres sinks Dortmund to send Barcelona into knockouts
- US House passes defense bill banning gender care for minors
- Turkey says Ethiopia, Somalia reach compromise deal to end feud
- Saka brace sinks Monaco as Arsenal eye Champions League last 16
- Man City crisis deepens with Champions League defeat at Juventus
Bucha witness saw soldiers fire on man 'going to supermarket'
In Bucha, resident Olena told AFP she saw Russian soldiers shoot a man in cold blood as units of "brutal" older troops sowed fear in the town near Kyiv.
"Right in front of my eyes, they fired on a man who was going to get food at the supermarket," said Olena, 43, who did not wish to give her second name.
Located 30 kilometres (19 miles) to the northwest of Kyiv's city centre, the town of Bucha was occupied by Russian forces on February 27 in the opening days of the war and remained under their control for a month.
After the bombardments stopped, Ukrainian forces were able to retake the town on Thursday.
Large numbers of bodies in civilian clothing have since been found in the town.
Throughout March, Olena lived with her children, seven and nine years old, in a cellar with no electricity under a four-storey housing block, along with other residents.
"There was no Ukrainian army in town, only the territorial defence made up mostly of unarmed guards from local businesses. And then they fled" when the Russians arrived, she said.
"At the beginning, there were mostly young (Russian) soldiers. Then, two weeks later, there were others, older ones. They were more than 40 years old.
"They were brutal. They mistreated everyone. And that's when the massacres started," she said, before interrupting herself, a dark, thoughtful look on her face.
On Monday, Russia "categorically" rejected all accusations in relation to civilian killings.
- 'Lying in blood' -
According to Olena, the older soldiers "were very well equipped and wore black and dark green uniforms" as opposed to standard Russian army fatigues.
"There were some good guys among the Russian soldiers and there were some very rough men, especially officers from the FSB", the Russian security services, said Olena, who was dressed in a red beanie, a fleece jacket, tracksuit bottoms and trainers.
"I was going up to the soldiers to ask them what I should feed my children with and they brought us rations and food.
"It was they who told us that it was the FSB that had banned us from moving around, that they were very violent special forces. It was Russians saying this about the Russians!" she said.
Only women were allowed to leave to fetch water or food. The men were not permitted to go out into the streets and had to stay where they were.
"Our neighbours went to put their rubbish out around 5:00 pm. They were two men and a woman. One of the men had served in the army. They didn't come back.
"They were found by the women in our building when they went to get wood in the courtyard of a house. The corpses were lying in blood on the ground with bullet marks," Olena said.
"When the FSB agents arrived, they asked, 'why didn't you leave?' I told them I have lived here for 43 years and had a peaceful life, so where would I go? At that point, they started calling us traitors, because we didn't leave."
- Mass graves -
On Saturday, AFP saw the bodies of at least 22 people in civilian clothes on a single street. One of them was on the pavement near a bicycle, others had bags of provisions near them. The body of one man had his hands tied behind his back.
On Monday, the bodies of five men, their hands also tied, were found in a children's sanatorium basement in Bucha, the Ukrainian prosecutor general's office said.
According to the mayor of Bucha, 280 people were buried in mass graves dug by Ukrainians, as the number of dead mounted.
In the centre of the town on Monday, one road was littered with the battered husks of around 20 vehicles, including troop transporters, tank trucks and Russian light armoured vehicles, some of them already beginning to rust.
The column was probably targeted by Ukrainian bombardments shortly after it rolled into town at the end of February.
In gardens, patches where the earth had been churned up could be seen surrounded by shell casings, an indication the site was used as an artillery position to pound the Kyiv region.
Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on Monday that Russian "experts at the ministry of defence have identified signs of video fakes and various fakes" in the videos shared by Ukrainian authorities.
G.Machado--PC