The News
Days after Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv region in late March 2022, the small town of Bucha made front-page headlines across the world. Harrowing images of tortured and killed civilians — some shot at point-blank range, some mutilated, and some raped — were among the first visual evidence of alleged brutal war crimes committed during the Russian occupation.
Russian authorities denied the allegations, variously dismissing the videos as fake or accusing Ukraine of orchestrating the killings as a false flag operation.
This is the story of Tetiana Sichkar, a 20-year-old Bucha resident who remained in town until its liberation by the Ukrainian forces.
Sichkar’s account was reported with a local journalist who requested anonymity due to the sensitive nature of his work. Semafor independently corroborated this story.
Witness
Witness is a new series of firsthand stories from around the world. After we corroborate these accounts, an artist animates the words using artificial intelligence.
Do you have a firsthand account of news that could be told this way? Do you know of someone who has one - from Iran, or Myanmar, or anywhere else it may be hard to capture video? Please reach out to us here.
—Joe Posner, Head of Video
