Tens of thousands of people have been killed in Ukraine’s worst-hit city of Mariupol, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claimed on Monday – while his chief prosecutor called Russian President Vladimir Putin the “major war criminal of the 21st century”.
Zelensky gave the chilling updated tally while warning that the invading forces appeared to be preparing an even bigger attack to finally take the besieged city, which intelligence officials fear could be hit with phosphorus bombs.
“Mariupol was destroyed, there are tens of thousands dead, but the Russians are still not stopping their offensive,” Zelenskyi told the South Korean parliament, asking for more support.
Despite the devastating losses, “Russian troops will move on to even larger operations,” Zelenskyy warned in a late-night video address on Sunday.
“They could use more missiles against us, more aerial bombs,” he warned, insisting his nation “is preparing for their actions” and “will respond.”
Great Britain The Ministry of Defense also warned Monday of an expected escalation by Russia, including on Mariupol, which is the linchpin between Russian-held territories to the west and east.
“Russian troops will move to even larger operations,” warned Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy
“The previous use of phosphorus munitions by Russian forces… raises the possibility of their future use in Mariupol as fighting around the city intensifies,” the UK said in its latest military intelligence report.
The same report also blamed “Russia’s continued reliance on unguided bombs” for the continued risk of “further civilian casualties.”
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova also warned of “mounting evidence” that her nation is standing still “Witness unprecedented and appalling” war crimes.
Destroyed houses in the village of Yakovlivka after a Russian bombardment.Thomas Peter/REUTERS
Bodies of civilians killed during the Russian occupation in Bucha Efrem Lukatsky/AP
Cemetery workers carry a body from a mass grave to be identified at a morgue. Rodrigo Abd/AP
At least 1,222 bodies were found in the regions around Kyiv. Rodrigo Abd/AP
She told ITV News on Sunday that more than 90% of Mariupol’s infrastructure was destroyed and at least 1,222 bodies were found in the regions around the capital Kyiv.
“Vladimir Putin is the main war criminal of the 21st century,” she said said Sky News.
Venediktova said her office has so far identified at least 500 invading forces responsible for at least 5,600 war crimes.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova said more than 90% of Mariupol’s infrastructure was destroyed. Zohra Bensemra/REUTERS
“Vladimir Putin is the main war criminal of the 21st century,” Iryna Venediktova said. Sputnik/Alexey Nikolsky/Kremlin via REUTERS
“It’s not just war crimes, it’s crimes against humanity,” she told the British broadcaster.
The country’s top prosecutor blasted Friday’s deadly rocket attack at the Kramatorsk train station, where thousands were trying to flee the war.
“These people just wanted to save their lives… they were women, they were children,” she told Sky News of the more than 50 dead, including at least five children.
Graves of civilians killed in Mariupol.Alexander Ermochenko/REUTERS
People stand near a shallow mass grave where bodies have been exhumed for identification. Sergei Chuzavkov/AFP via Getty Images
A man mourns his mother who was killed during Russian attacks in Bucha Rodrigo Abd/AP
According to Ludmila Zabaluk, head of the Dmytriv village department north of Kyiv, more than 50 bodies were found there.
“They shot her at close range. There’s a car where a 17-year-old child was burned to death, only bones left. Half of a woman’s head was blown off. A little further on, a man lying near his car was burned alive,” she said.
The United Nations said on Sunday that 4,232 civilian casualties have been recorded in Ukraine so far, with 1,793 killed and 2,439 injured. Officials have long conceded that the ultimate tally will be far higher.
Cemetery workers operate a crane that lifts a man’s body from a mass grave for identification at a morgue. Rodrigo Abd/AP
So far, 1,793 deaths have been registered in Ukraine. Rodrigo Abd/AP
WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT
Cemetery workers use a crane to exhume bodies from a mass grave. Rodrigo Abd/AP
About a quarter of Ukraine’s 44 million people were forced from their homes as cities were reduced to rubble and thousands of people were killed or injured – many of them civilians.
The startling news came as Austrian Chancellor Karl Nehammer was due to meet Putin on Monday, becoming the first European leader since his brutal invasion.
He wants to tell Putin “what the reality outside the Kremlin walls is like” – including that he “de facto morally lost the war,” Austria’s Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said on Monday.
“It should be in his own interest that someone tells him the truth. I think it’s important and we owe it to ourselves if we want to save lives,” said Schallenberg ahead of the planned meeting in Moscow.
With mail wires