Shocking images came to light from Bucha, Ukraine, on Saturday of at least 20 civilian men dead and lining a single street.
The images were captured by Agence France-Presse on the same day Ukraine declared the town liberated from Russian troops.
Accounts of alleged Russian atrocities are emerging as its forces retreat from areas near Kyiv following a failed bid to encircle the capital.
European leaders have condemned the alleged atrocities in Bucha, and called for an investigation into the Russian military and new sanctions. The Russian Ministry of Defense denied the allegations on Sunday.
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg on Sunday called the deaths of civilians in Bucha a “brutality” after allegations they were executed by Russian forces in the area.
Here are more of the latest headlines from the Russia-Ukraine conflict:
- Ukrainian president reacts to images from Bucha: “This is genocide,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Sunday, speaking after the images emerged of civilian bodies strewn across the streets of Bucha. “The elimination of the whole nation, and the people. We are the citizens of Ukraine. We have more than 100 nationalities. This is about the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities,” he said during an appearance on CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”
- Russia’s response to images from Bucha: The Russian Ministry of Defense claimed the extensive footage was “fake,” saying “not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions,” during Russia’s occupation of Bucha. “In the settlements of the Kiev region, Russian military personnel delivered and issued 452 tons of humanitarian aid to civilians,” it said in a statement. A separate statement claimed the footage was staged. The Russian government has consistently responded to allegations of civilian casualties inflicted by Russian forces with blanket denials.
- UN secretary general calls for an “independent investigation” into civilians killed in Bucha: The top UN official said an “independent investigation” into the civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine, is “essential” to ensure “effective accountability.” “I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said in a statement Sunday.
- US secretary of state says images of dead Ukrainians in Bucha “a punch to the gut”: US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Sunday that the State Department would help document any atrocities the Russian military committed against Ukrainian civilians, following new images from AFP out of the town of Bucha. “You can’t help but see these images as a punch to the gut,” Blinken told CNN’s Dana Bash on “State of the Union” Sunday.
- State Department spokesperson suggests US will take additional actions against Russia “very soon”: State Department spokesperson Ned Price, meanwhile, hinted at additional US action against Russia coming “very soon” when asked about Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky’s request for greater G7 sanctions in response to the latest atrocities in Bucha. “When it comes to our sanctions, we’ve always said that we will continue applying pressure on President Putin, on the Kremlin, on all of those around him including oligarchs and cronies who are empowering this war of choice against Ukraine, until and unless the Kremlin deescalates, until and unless the violence diminishes, and until and unless these kinds of atrocities come to an end. So I suspect you will very soon see additional pressure applied,” Price told MSNBC Sunday.
- NATO chief warns attacks in Ukraine will continue: This is not a “real withdrawal of Russian forces,” NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said, warning that attacks in Ukraine will continue. “What we see is not a real withdrawal. But we see that Russia is repositioning its troops and they are taking some of them back to rearm them, to reinforce them, to resupply them. We should not in a way be too optimistic because the attacks will continue,” Stoltenberg told CNN’s Chief Political Correspondent Dana Bash on Sunday.
- Ukrainian city of Chernihiv mostly destroyed, mayor says: The northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv is about 70% destroyed following an assault by Russian troops, Vladyslav Atroshenko, the city’s mayor, said Sunday. The “consequences” of the attack by Russia in Chernihiv are “severe,” similar to the aftermath in other badly damaged cities and towns like Bucha, where bodies of civilians were found in the streets, as well as in Kharkiv and Mariupol, he said. The most urgent issues facing residents is a “concentration of Russian troops on the Belarusian border,” and concerns the city will be hit with more missiles and air bombs, Atroshenko added.
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