Back to Bucha

Before 2022 few people outside Ukraine had ever heard of Bucha, an attractive town surrounded by pine forests that was popular with young families. And then in April, as the Russian army moved out of the territory it had occupied in northern Ukraine for 33 days, this suburb of Kyiv became a global byword for brutality.

In the months since Russia’s tanks withdrew, a new army has descended on Bucha: of bomb disposal experts, who have disarmed thousands of devices left behind; of police, who have dug up mass graves; and of war crimes investigators who are painstakingly building cases against the invaders and their directors in Moscow. Turn to p026 for Harriet Salem and Valentina Garkavenko’s account of their grim, vital work.

The war in Ukraine dominated the headlines this quarter – along with its strange side effects, including the forced separation of a billionaire and his football club (p076). But it wasn’t the only story worth revisiting: Roe v Wade was overturned (p116), Rwanda’s gorillas had cause for celebration (p062) and the Glastonbury festival belatedly marked its 50th year (p106). In London, a mayor previously ousted for corrupt practices made a barnstorming return to power (p050), while the government mooted a return to imperial weights and measures (p094).

We hope you enjoy the issue. If you do, please tell your friends and family about the benefits of reading DG, including a broadened mind, newly sparkling pub conversation and detailed instruction in how to run a social media shakedown (p043).

Thanks as always for your support.

Rob and Marcus, Editors

Posted on Monday, June 19th, 2023 - Categories: #47 - Apr-Jun 2022.