Russian President Vladimir Putin has made the surprising decision to honor the military unit responsible for the Bucha massacre in Ukraine, the 64th Motor Rifle Brigade, with the title of "guards" for actions that he said were to defend the "motherland and state interests."

The military squad is accused of war crimes for the alleged killings of hundreds of citizens in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. Putin's decree comes a week after the Russian president offered his first public remarks regarding the atrocities in the city.

Putin Honors Bucha Killers

Putin called the images that allegedly showed the vile acts done in the region "fake," accusing the Ukrainian government of forging the photos to lay blame on Russia. Last week, Kyiv's regional police chief said that there were more than 900 civilian bodies found in the suburb of Bucha.

The majority of the victims were discovered with gunshot wounds with the official saying that the death toll is expected to rise as police continue to find bodies buried under rubble and in mass graves. Ukraine has opted to deploy thousands of personnel to gather evidence of what many consider war crimes committed by Russian troops, as per Forbes.

In his statement, Putin congratulated the military brigade and said that it was a high honor and recognition of the unit's special merits, mass heroism, and courage. The official concluded that he was wishing for the good health and success of the unit.

Read Also: Russia-Ukraine War: Expert Reveals 1 Reason That Will Trigger Vladimir Putin To Use Nuclear Weapons

The atrocities were discovered earlier this month when Russian military forces withdrew from the Kyiv region. Ukrainian authorities later discovered evidence of dead civilians in the areas that Moscow controlled for some time, with some victims having their hands tied behind their backs.

According to Axios, days after the discovery of the bodies, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that more than 300 people were tortured and killed in Bucha and blamed the Russians. On Apr. 4, Ukraine's Ministry of Defense released a statement that explicitly named Moscow's 64th Motorized Infantry Brigade as being "directly involved" with the massacre in the region.

Russia-Ukraine War

The situation comes as Russia unleashes another offensive on Ukraine, ushering in a new phase of the war between the two European nations. Moscow's troops unleashed a massive artillery and rocket barrage along Ukraine's eastern front on Monday night.

Ukrainian officials said that the attack is the beginning of a new offensive that stretches from Kharkiv in the north part of the country to Mariupol in the southern part of the nation. Zelensky delivered a video message in the midst of the rocket artillery targeting Kharkiv and Mykolaiv saying that Russian military forces have "started the battle for the Donbas that they have been getting ready for a long time."

In a statement, the head of the National Security and Defense Council Oleksiy Danilov added that "an active phase of the Russian offensive set off almost along the entire front line." He said that this signaled what many expect to be a bloody new phase of the seven-week-old war that began on Feb. 24, Politico reported.

Related Article: Militant British National Captured in Mariupol Claims That Pro-Ukraine Soldiers Abandoned Civilian Welfare as the Russians Stormed the Port City