Butscha and the peace plan "Trump should come here himself and see our pain"

Progress is reported in talks on a controversial US initiative to end the war in Ukraine. A planned post-war amnesty for perpetrators of atrocities leaves residents in war-torn Butsha stunned.

DPA

24.11.2025, 12:35

dpa

Mass graves and bullet-riddled churches in the Kiev suburb of Butsha bear witness to the horrors of the past Russian occupation.

The traumatized residents are now facing new suffering: a peace proposal submitted by the USA, which provides for a blanket post-war amnesty for the perpetrators of atrocities.

For the survivors of Butsha, where hundreds of Ukrainians were killed in the Russian war of aggression in 2022, the proposed amnesty is perceived less as a step towards reconciliation and more as a source of disillusionment.

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This feeling can also be felt in other communities and reflects the widespread concern in Ukraine about what it would mean to absolve Russia, its soldiers and those responsible for alleged crimes.

Priest calls for justice for atrocities

The Church of St. Andrew the Apostle stands next to a mass grave where civilians are buried - some shot in the street, others with signs of torture.

Father Andrij Halawin, head of the congregation in the still-damaged church, said any amnesty would legitimize further violence while the war continues. "It means you can keep bombing, keep executing soldiers, all with the confidence that nothing will happen," he said after Sunday's service.

The mass killings were discovered when Russian troops withdrew from the region after their failed attempt to take the capital Kiev during the large-scale invasion of 2022.

Father Andrij emphasized that many perpetrators had already been identified. Justice is not about revenge, but about proving that responsibility still counts - precisely because the Ukrainians are now being asked to weigh up painful concessions for peace.

Peace plan requires difficult decisions

The proposed 28-point peace plan followed negotiations between Russia and the government of US President Donald Trump. According to the plan, Ukraine would have to give up territory - even more than the territory currently controlled by Russian troops.

The country would also have to reduce its military and renounce its NATO membership. In return, Kiev would receive international security guarantees and help with reconstruction. President Volodymyr Selensky described the plan as one of the most difficult moments of the war.

At the military cemetery in Butscha, Wira Katanenko, 66, visited the grave of her son Andrij, who was killed in action in the Donetsk region last year. For her, the peace plan and the proposed amnesty are unthinkable.

"I can't accept this," she said. "You want forgiveness for all war crimes, including Butsha? That's terrible. They should come here - Trump himself should come here. Let him and his family come, see our pain, and maybe they'll change their minds."

The uncertainty weighs heavily

A short distance outside Butscha, mourners gathered for the funeral of Ruslan Shyhunov, a 41-year-old machine gunner who was killed in eastern Ukraine.

Uncertainty over the peace plan weighed heavily on relatives and neighbors who watched the funeral in the rain - another indication of how fragile any promised future currently appears.

"How can you trade the territory of your ancestors for something? For what?" asked Andriy Honcharuk, a 71-year-old retired Territorial Defense volunteer who attended the ceremony in uniform. "The war will not end soon. We will die for a long time."