Ukraine’s military intelligence claims they have eliminated three Russian soldiers accused of carrying out severe atrocities in Bucha in 2022. This dramatic act of revenge was precisely timed to occur on Ukraine’s Independence Day.

The men, branded among Putin’s ‘Bucha Butchers’, were blown up in a targeted air strike in the Russian-occupied Luhansk region.

Two more were said to have been left seriously wounded in the explosion, according to Ukraine’s GUR intelligence directorate.

Bucha, once a quiet commuter town just outside Kyiv, turned into a symbol of Russian brutality in 2022. When Kremlin troops retreated, they left behind mass graves and streets scattered with bodies.

Civilians were mercilessly executed, tortured, mutilated, and raped as Moscow’s soldiers unleashed a campaign of terror during their unsuccessful attempt to seize the capital.

Dozens of corpses, many bound or bearing signs of torture, were later uncovered, sparking global outrage and war crimes investigations. 

Yesterday’s explosion occurred in the village of Kalynove, where the Russian unit reportedly functioned as a mobile air defense group protecting a military repair base.

The detonation destroyed two pick-up trucks mounted with machine guns, one of which was loaded with ammunition.

‘In 2022, [these] Russian occupiers directly took part in committing war crimes in the city of Bucha,’ said the GUR.

‘The detonation was in the yard of an apartment building where six Russian invaders were staying with their military transport.

‘There will be just retribution for every war crime committed against the Ukrainian people,’ they added.

These troops are believed to have been part of the notorious 64th Separate Guards Motor Rifle Brigade and segments of the 76th Guards Air Assault Division, units heavily associated with the Bucha massacres.

Russia’s Rosgvardia and Chechen fighters were also deployed in the town during the bloodshed. 

The strike came as Ukraine marked 34 years of independence from Moscow’s rule.

Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney arrived in Kyiv on Sunday to mark Ukrainian Independence Day.

‘On this Ukrainian Independence Day, and at this critical moment in their nation’s history, Canada is stepping up our support and our efforts towards a just and lasting peace for Ukraine,’ Carney wrote on X as he touched down in the capital.

Other world leaders shared messages of encouragement and support to President Volodymyr Zelensky on X.

King Charles and Queen Camilla told of their ‘deepest admiration for the unbreakable courage of the Ukrainian people’ in an letter to the Ukrainian President.

As well as the British royal family, Ulf Kristersson, the Swedish Prime Minister, Karin Keller-Sutter, the Swiss President, King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands, and Xi Jinping, the President of China, all posted messages. 

The UK government announced that Ukrainian flags will appear above Downing Street on Sunday in recognition of the anniversary.

UK Defence Secretary John Healey said: ‘We will continue to step up our support alongside allies, so that Ukraine can defend today and deter tomorrow.

‘In the face of ongoing Russian attacks, we must put Ukraine’s armed forces in the strongest possible position.

‘And as the push for peace continues, we must make the Ukrainians into the strongest possible deterrent to secure that future peace.’

The Ministry of Defence has also announced that British military experts will continue to train Ukrainian soldiers until at least the end of 2026, with an extension to Operation Interflex.

Operation Interflex is the codename given to the UK Armed Forces’ training programme, which has been created to develop and prepare Ukrainian recruits to fight their country’s Russian invaders.