1 of 2 In the photo, Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, sits next to a black plastic bag containing the body of her son Vadym Trubchaninov, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha on March 30. — Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP
In the photo, Nadiya Trubchaninova, 70, sits next to a black plastic bag containing the body of her son Vadym Trubchaninov, 48, who was killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha on March 30. — Photo: Rodrigo Abd/AP
The bodies of 1,150 civilians have been recovered in Ukraine’s Kyiv region since the Russian invasion, and 50 to 70 percent of them have small arms gunshot wounds, Kiev police said on Thursday.
Kyiv regional police chief Andriy Nebytov said in a video posted to Twitter that most of the bodies were found in the city of Bucha, where hundreds of bodies have been discovered since Russian forces left.
Civilian bodies are left on the streets of Bucha city, Ukraine.
Ukraine says civilians found dead in Bucha were killed by Russian forces while occupying the area. Reuters has not been able to verify the number of people found dead in Bucha or the circumstances of their deaths.
Russia has denied targeting civilians since invading Ukraine on February 24. He called allegations that Russian troops shot civilians in Bucha while occupying the city as a “monstrous fabrication” designed to defame the Russian army.
“To date we have found, examined and handed over 1,150 bodies of dead civilians to forensic institutions,” Nebytov said in the video, in which he stood in the rubble of buildings destroyed during intense fighting in the Kyiv region.
“I want to emphasize that these are civilians and not military,” he said.
The video was posted on the day United Nations SecretaryGeneral António Guterres is scheduled to hold talks with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in Kyiv.
2 of 2 António Guterres visits the outskirts of Kyiv, April 28, 2022 — Photo: AP
António Guterres visits the outskirts of Kyiv on April 28, 2022 — Photo: AP
Ukrainian television showed Guterres visiting the town of Borodyanka, where Zelensky said the situation was “significantly worse” than in neighboring Bucha.