Bucha Massacre Victim: Zoreslav Zamoysky

< Bucha Massacre

May 4, 2022 

One of the more "ironic" Victims of the Bucha Massacre is Zoreslav Zamoysky, a Jewish journalist and activist and to some minds a "supporter of the "Russian World"" - killed by Russian invaders at an unclear time after last contact on March 4, and before his death was publicized on April 12 - ironically on what would have been his 44th birthday (NSJU statement 4/13). 

The city council of Irpin, not Bucha, may be the first to report Zamoysky's death April 12 on Facebook: "It was known about the death of a journalist from the Priirpínia, Zoreslav Zamoyskyi. His body with signs of violent death was found on B. Khmelnytskyi Street in Bucha. Condolences to family and loved ones!"

UkraNews: "As the network user Sergey Melanchenko told the NUJU, now the body of Zoreslav Zamoysky is in the Ivankovsky morgue. According to Melanchenko, the photos taken by forensic experts leave no doubt that the death of the journalist was violent." I haven't seen any story relating just how and when he died, citing any witnesses or other evidence. It was violent, then his body was found, and it happened sometime during the Russian occupation. 

Where? This street his body was found on - Bulʹvar Bohdana Khmelʹnytsʹkoho - runs NW-SE in city center, near the Bucha City council building and next to St. Andrews Church, where the central mass grave was begun around March 10. A video Zamoysky posted on March 3 (the first one here) was filmed from that street, looking at some large fires to the southwest. Perhaps he filmed that scene from his home, and was killed - or found - in the street right in front of it. (see analysis below)

When? CPJ reported "In Zamoysky’s case, local residents in Bucha found his body on a street in the city in early April, according to statements by the Ukrainian National Union of Journalists (NUJU) and the Irpin city council. Those sources did not state the exact date his body was found." 

However, no time frame, not even early April, is specified in either source. It's a decent guess, as that's when most people were found, some laying out on streets - especially along the exposed no-man's land of Yablunska street - and more yet were already buried at the central mass grave or elsewhere. But his body was found on a central street in the managed part of Bucha, in fact very close to the mass grave. His body would probably not be laying there in early April if he were killed much earlier. Perhaps it was found earlier, and then buried, with the latter going unmentioned. Or maybe he was killed just then in early April, as Russian forces retreated and Ukrainian forces arrived. 

A dramatic and probably deceptive video adds little, unless that's his body and hand shown at 0:40, as the video edit suggests. Зореслав Замойский — МЕДИА МЕМОРИАЛ - YouTube

If so, and the image is from anywhere near April 3, he has been dead in the wet and cold for many days or a few weeks. That might have been in the mass grave, if he were wrapped to keep most soil off - might be just left in this central street so long, but that seems strange - or also strange but precedented, his body was left somewhere else before it was found back near his home to find (IF it really was found there).

Why? 

NSJU; "Iryna Fedorov, founder of the news website Hromada Priirpinnya, told the NUJU that Zamoysky covered the activities of local authorities in the region around Bucha and the city of Irpin as a freelancer for his outlet and other local media groups. The NUJU statement also said that Zamoysky worked as an activist, but did not describe the nature of his activism." 

Covering local authorities could have earned Zamoysky some enemies. For one example I found: a December 2020 article from Hromada Priirpinnya, uncredited, perhaps by Zamoysky himself: "Deputies of Buchan district council illegally put into power – court decision"  

Other things that might also have made him enemies. The Russians might hate him just for being Ukrainian, as is generally assumed for all those killed. But then again...

https://apostrophe.ua/news/society/accidents/2022-04-13/v-buche-pogib-adept-russkogo-mira-foto/265804

"In Bucha, where the Russian occupiers killed and tortured hundreds of civilians, journalist Zoreslav Zamoyski died at their hands. The cruel irony of fate is that during his lifetime he was a supporter of the "Russian world". ... As Viktor Glushchenko wrote, Zamoysky was a classic "cotton wool man" and a fan of the Russian world. He was often nostalgic for the USSR, was part of the "victory" and supported Russian theses about the events in Ukraine. Glushchenko published the corresponding screenshots."

It's not clear where Viktor Glushchenko wrote this or who he is: the same "unknown" man reported here in 2019? If so, troubling - that Viktor Glushchenko was arrested on suspicion of premeditated murder, 3 years after he - or someone with the same name - reported Regions party leader Alexander Efremov for treason and supporting terrorism ("supporting the Russian world"), which charges landed Efremov in prison for 3 years. Glushchenko was jailed just as Efremov was released by order of Ukraine's constitutional court, in a strange reversal of fortunes. (IF that was the same man, and the same name appears as a Ukrainian police chief, and a fitness club owner, among whoever else.)

Scanning Zamoysky's Facebook page, there are a lot of (to me) obscure historical references, largely Soviet but stretching way back. But he doesn't seem obsessed with modern Russian memes about Ukrainian Nazis, and he wasn't so bold as to publicly approve of Russia's invasion to "De-Nazify" Ukraine - in fact:

3/1 "It was unfair that Kharkiv was not given the title of a hero city for the contribution of Kharkivians in the defeat of Hitleriv Nazis. Now the whole world has seen and understood that Kharkiv is a hero city!" It's a common thing now to call the invaders Nazis, especially if one had been kind of pro-Russian before and wanted to avoid a lynching now. But it seems odd to specify this largely pro-Russian city resisted Hitler's Nazis (гітлерівських нацистів) rather than Putin's Nazis. And it's the former he was already concerned about - in 2020 posting that "Journalists claim that the Verkhovna Rada house sells literary work in which the author approves of Adolf Hitler." 

Zorelsav Zamoysk was an observant Jew, who once re-posted his picture with a blue "I stand for Israel" ribbon (May, 2021) and to the end tried to adhere to the sabbath. In the new conflict, on March 1, he posted "Jews in Israel, USA and other countries! Babin Yar is being hit by direct infiltration missiles. This is an attack on Jews worldwide!" He wasn't clear about who had attacked the memorial. 

Rabbi Moshe Reuven Asman spoke at Zamoysky's funeral, blaming Russia for his death: According to the rabbi, Zoreslav Zamoyski was a Jew and just a nice person, but he was killed by the Russian occupiers in Bucha, who allegedly came to denazify Ukraine ... [Asman] called on Russian troops to come to their senses and repent of their crimes." 

As for "Russian world" type positions Zamoyski held that might irk the ultra-nationalists - from what I can see and understand, it's fairly mild, but existent: 

Commemorating the May 2, 2014 Odessa massacre in 2021: "7 years since the tragedy on the Kulikovy field in Odessa. The culprits of the arson have not been found. society is still divided... Condolences to family & friends. May 2 was destined to be one of the most tragic days of modern Ukrainian history." (screen grab from Apostrophe article)

He marked this annually - in 2020 for example:  "6 years since the tragic events in Odessa. Remembering and mourning." He obviously didn't mark it in 2022, and never will again.

Another unsolved crime he took interest in, marking the anniversary just before the current invasion, on February 14: "It's been thirty years since the tragic death of the People's Deputy of Ukraine and the famous journalist Vadim Boyka. The circumstances of his death are not investigated to this day." Boyka was killed 2/14/92 in a suspicious explosion, as Zamoysky relates it, and it went uninvestigated, as with Odessa. 

A comment there lamented: "Unfortunately journalists are not protected, and every day are under a threat, if not physical then morally." Zamoysky replied "exactly like that, unfortunately."

Chronicling the Russian Invasion on Facebook:

CPJ: "Zamoysky regularly covered the war on his personal Facebook page, where he had about 1,000 followers. His last post was published March 4." 

Зореслав Замойский | Facebook

The following relates his posts from Feb. 24 to March 4, using auto-translation, only fixed where it's clear how - some gibberish included.

2/24 Podol.Mother fucker! What has been going on .... (photo: smoke rises over Kiev - as posted by others) 

2/27 It turned out to be almost at the epicenter of the fighting. I have never seen anything like this in my life and I do not wish anyone to experience it.

It is very likely that the connection will soon disappear (and for a long time).

Health and God's intercession to all.

3/1 5:00 p.m. Buzz. Finally have a cell phone service.

Peace is still a long way. Explosions could be heard from time to time. Sort of like an air defense.

3/1 My television has stopped working.

They write that a TV tower in Kiev has been attacked.

March 1  https://www.facebook.com/zoreslav.zamojskij/posts/2602722873205302

My understanding is that communication will be lost again soon

Posting photos I took yesterday morning. Station Street of the city of Bucha. Broken Armour Column. These are the aftermath of a fight that happened in my neighborhood on Feb 27.

Request to FB friends (especially from Israel, since you are more familiar with this topic) to share these photos. Let people see what is happening in residential neighborhoods.

Photo not sorted, no time. Putting it all out there. Say a prayer for us.

(36 photos, many of the same scenes - like he said, unsorted - a good view of the lethal Ukrainian overkill at right)

3/2 new cover photo, young girl looking at damaged building

3/3 "A strong snowstorm from the very morning. And most importantly, it is unclear where the fights are taking place: from Irpen, Vorzel, the center of Bucha? 

Such a tense situation. Curfew 5 p.m. - 8 a.m. But even during the day, given this thunder, people are unlikely to point out on the street.

Lets see what happens next."

3/3 "Fire elimination at ZAEU is reported. No damage and radiation were recorded." (Chernobyl?)

3/3 It's Friday morning. Shooting since early morning. Very powerful at times. Reported about a breakout of air alarm.

3/3 "A 5:00 p.m. curfew is now in effect.

We ourselves have been sitting in a cellar for two hours now due to constant automatic queues (gunfire?) on the street near the yard and explosions far away. God forbid to get out until the night. Just now I stumbled into a cemetery atrium.

It's Kanonada on the street, it's not clear who and where is fighting."

3/3 7:52 PM https://www.facebook.com/zoreslav.zamojskij/posts/2604465963030993

"This is what happened in our city during the day." (videos) "There were intense street fights in parallel. I don't wish anyone to go through this."

Map break: I've seen 3 of the 4 videos here analyzed and geolocated, but not the first one that I recall. The others show Russian tanks parked in residential areas in the southwest of Bucha. This one looks across the same Khmelnytskyi street Zamoysky's body would be found on, so likely filmed by him, from his home. Across the way is Ivana Rudenko St, #2 with some shops - Two large fires are visible a ways to the southwest.

Lining up some distance features, it seems one should be at or behind a truck yard just outside town, and the other less clear (maybe the "pit stop" gas station?). These are both a bit outside city limits, a ways northwest of where the tanks are parked in those other videos, and just about at the front line with Russian forces on the 3rd, per this map, which had to pull back by the 4th (no Russian control in frame at all on the 4th). Those parts added in orange to this mapping of some other early killings atop approximate areas of claimed control (which are especially ambiguous in these days).

Back to Fecebook:

3/4 Passed the beat. Saturday is coming soon according to the Jewish calendar. Shabbat shalom in this difficult time!

3/4 3:07 PM "Tanks are in the street. As the fortress commander from "The Captain's Daughter" said: "Hold on guys, there's a seizure."

March 4 may be the day Russian-marked tanks were seen driving north by cathedral (Church of St. Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints, filmed passing Zamoysky's probable home, but from a different spot, a few blocks NW. Ivana Rudenko St, 2 is plainly visible, with the church just to the east.

Mapped below (view is from NW, upper left corner). This raises some questions if Ukraine ran the city, why is such a column of Russian tanks just retreating peacefully so close to city hall? By agreement, by authorities who had already wrecked enough of Bucha? Likely enough. The route makes sense to both get north and to make an attack on them extra costly. It also seems possible these are captured Russian tanks, or fake Russian tanks (how hard is it to paint a V?), or just some in a mix with Ukrainian captors ... I don't think the view is clear enough to make out the markings on any but the first few. 

The photo is most widely seen and dated as 3/14, including by the Bucha city council, but they paired it with two photos of a different, tankless scene also dated the 14th, showing bullet holes in the windows (somewhere SE of either location) and suggesting the tanks did that. The photo is older, included here by 3/6 - elsewhere it's been dated 3/4, as someone noted but couldn't find the source for, but it's likely the same column Zamoysky saw on the 4th. By sunlight, diffuse as it is, I'd say the photo was taken roughly mid-day, maybe a bit on the afternoon side - maybe 1-2 PM or just as Zamoysky was posting at 3 PM.

Final post - just 5 hours later, March 4, 7:59 PM https://www.facebook.com/zoreslav.zamojskij/posts/2605249642952625

"At 20.00 the darkness outside is full. And the light is out. During the day, all the electrical appliances were burned to the damn grandmother because of the strong tension in the network. Including a refrigerator.

In the house right now . It's quiet in the street. Only sometimes lonely explosions in the distance. Tanks and other equipment have long gone in an unknown direction. What will happen at night only God knows, I can only assume...

Tomorrow it may happen that there will be no Internet or communication. Maybe for a long time. As they say, we live by circumstances."

"in an unknown direction" = pulling back to the north. Kiev had declared control of the city on the 3rd, even solidifying this on the 4th, but they have Russia back in charge by early on the 5th, maybe with earlier advances shortly after that last message. Allegedly.

Zamoysky noted and predicted earlier, temporary losses communication, and it seems they did go out more fully on the 5th. Some were back online eventually, but there was no more word from Zamoysky. Something probably happened to him in the hours or days after that post - likely killed or possibly abducted, either by re-invading Russian forces or by retreating Ukrainian ones.