Execution of village mayor becomes symbol of Russian brutality in Ukraine

Ms. Sukhenko made Motyzhyn “like a flower: pretty, cared for, clean,” said Ms. Semenova. She had the culture center and kindergarten renovated. Every year she put on a concert to celebrate the oldest and youngest in the village, to thank military veterans, and to hand out awards for the best-looking street and building…

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The Russian soldiers returned an hour later and took away the mayor and her husband and told Oleksandr that they would bring them back soon. Oleksandr called Mr. Kurach and warned him to destroy his SIM card to prevent the Russians finding and identifying him. In the evening, the Russian soldiers returned and took away Oleksandr.

At the end of March, the Ukrainian army smashed their way into the village to find most of the Russian forces already gone. The Russians appear to have packed up quickly, leaving fatigues and boots at the farm and in the trenches.

There were civilian bodies in the streets and in cars when they arrived, said Mr. Rudyak, the territorial-defense commander who is temporarily in charge of the village.

Some Ukrainian soldiers found the Sukhenkos’ bodies in a shallow grave in the woods, their hands bound and bodies partially visible—a hasty burial. The soldiers scraped back some of the earth and untied their hands.

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