More than 900 civilian bodies were found in the region around the Ukrainian capital after the withdrawal of Russian forces, most of whom were fatally shot, police said.
This is twice as much as announced two weeks ago by the Ukrainian authorities. Earlier, Russia’s Defense Ministry promised to step up missile attacks on Kyiv in response to Ukraine’s alleged aggression on Russian territory.
This was followed by the loss of Moscow’s flagship in the Black Sea, which a senior US defense official said on Friday had been hit by at least one Ukrainian missile.
Andriy Nebitov, head of the regional police in Kyiv, said that around Kyiv the bodies were abandoned on the street or temporarily buried. He cited police figures showing that 95% had died from gunshot wounds.
“Therefore, we understand that during the occupation, people were simply executed on the streets,” Nebitov said.
More bodies are found every day, under ruins and in mass graves, he said. The highest number of victims was found in Bucha, where there are more than 350.
According to Nebitov, public service officials in Bucha collected and buried bodies in the Kyiv suburb while it remained under Russian control. He said Russian troops were “tracking” people who expressed strong pro-Ukrainian views.
There may be new attacks in Kyiv after Russian authorities accused Ukraine of injuring seven people and damaging about 100 residential buildings in air strikes in Bryansk, a region bordering Ukraine. Authorities in another Russian border region also announced Ukrainian shelling on Thursday.
“The number and scale of missile attacks on sites in Kyiv will increase in response to the Kiev nationalist regime, which carries out all kinds of terrorist attacks or sabotage on Russian territory,” said Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov.
Ukrainian authorities have not confirmed that any targets have been struck in Russia, and the reports cannot be independently verified.
However, Ukrainian authorities said their forces had fired missiles at a key Russian warship. And more than a day later, when the Pentagon said it could not confirm the allegation, a senior U.S. defense official said he now believed Moscow had been hit by at least one missile on Wednesday, possibly two, causing a large fire on board. . The employee said on condition of anonymity.
Add Comment