Ukrainian officials and independent photographers have reported bodies strewn in the streets of the Kyiv region city of Bucha, after Ukrainian forces retook the area following a Russian retreat to eastern Ukraine.
The big picture: Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk tweeted Saturday images of bodies with hands tied behind their backs in the city, northwest of Kyiv. "We have already buried 280 people in mass graves," he told AFP, which also captured images of bodies in Bucha's streets.
- "These people were not in the military. They had no weapons. They posed no threat," Fedoruk said in his Twitter post.
Meanwhile, Ukraine's Defense Ministry tweeted Saturday that during several weeks of Russian occupation of Bucha, "civilians were being executed arbitrarily," some had their hands tied behind their backs, their bodies scattered in the streets of the city."
- The defense ministry shared a video on Twitter of Ukrainian troops driving through Bucha that showed bodies strewn in the streets.
- Axios has deemed images of the bodies too graphic to publish, but the devastation of the city is clear from the shells of buildings left behind.
In photos: Russian forces' trail of destruction in Bucha
A playground with bullet holes in Bucha on April 2. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Ukrainian soldiers patrol a street in Bucha on April 2. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
A destroyed building in Bucha on April 2. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
A Ukrainian soldier patrols a street in Bucha on April 2. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
A building that was damaged by Russian shelling in Bucha on April 2. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
A man looks for food in Bucha on April 2. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
