Ukrainian officials have identified 10 Russian soldiers who they accuse of having committed war crimes in the attack on Bucha, a suburb of the capital city of Kyiv, where at least 400 civilians lost their lives when Russian forces occupied the town in March. 

The identities and photographs of the soldiers have been published after Ukrainian law enforcement officials worked for weeks to determine the soldiers' identities, reports The New York Times.

The bodies of hundreds of civilians were found in Bucha after Russia's troops left in late March; many of the victims were lying in the streets because the city's other citizens were too afraid to remove them while the troops were still occupying the city. 

In some cases, victims were shot in the back of the head, while others were killed, execution-style, with their hands tied behind their backs. Children were also killed and women were raped, Ukrainian officials said. 

In a statement this week, Ukraine's prosecutor general's office said the 10 Russian soldiers who were named were determined to have taken civilians as hostages and "killed them with hunger and thirst, kept them on their knees with their hands tied and their eyes taped" and "humiliated and beat" them.

The statement included photos of the soldiers who were identified. Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said the government knows "all the details about them and their actions. 

"We will find everyone, just as we will find all the other Russian thugs who killed and tortured Ukrainians, who tormented our people, who destroyed houses and civilian infrastructure in Ukraine," he said in a statement. 

"Ukraine’s position is absolutely clear," Zelenskyy also said. "Every Russian criminal must be, and will be, brought to justice. Whoever they are and wherever they hide, we will find them all and make them bear responsibility."

The case was cracked by examining social media posts, satellite images, security camera records, and statements from witnesses, a "very difficult" procedure, Rusian Kravchenko, a lead Ukrainian prosecutor said. "We have to find information in tiny bits and piece it together." 

The prosecutors said they've shown the soldiers' photos to witnesses and victims, and were helped by Ukrainian journalists from an organization, Slidstvo.info, which dug into the soldiers' social media accounts to publish personal details bout them. 

One of the suspects had served as a firefighter in a remote Russian town more than 4,000 miles away from Ukraine. Dmytro Repliaanchuk, a Slidstvo.info journalist, said in a video that it is "difficult to say what forced him to change from the profession of rescuer to the profession of war criminal."

Russia has denied that any war crimes were committed and said the images of atrocities and the witness accounts were fake.

Further, Russian President Vladimir Putin awarded the title of "Guards" to the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade in honor of their service in Bucha.

Independent human rights investigators, however, have confirmed that the Russian forces tortured and killed civilians.

"Russian forces committed a litany of apparent war crimes during their occupation of Bucha” and that there was “extensive evidence of summary executions, other unlawful killings, enforced disappearances, and torture, all of which would constitute war crimes and potential crimes against humanity," Human Rights Watch said in a recent report.

And even though Putin honored them, Ukraine said the 64th Separate Motor Rifle Brigade was responsible for at least some of the atrocities. 

The soldiers who were identified were all young, lower-ranked members of the Russian military. More detailed accusations are expected in upcoming days, and the Ukrainian investigators are working with French forensic experts in Kyiv and with the International Criminal Court.

Britain is also sending specialists in as well, including experts in conflict-related sexual violence. 

• Ukrainian Mayor: Bucha Body Count Tops 300
• Ukrainian Official on Bucha: 'I Have Never Seen So Many Bodies at Once'