Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky hit out at Russia in his daily address on Sunday night (April 3) over the reported torture and killing of his nation's civilians in cities including Bucha. The president was furious with the "concentrated evil" being carried out in Ukraine and directly addressed troops' mothers amid claims of looting and rape carried out by the Russian army.
"Murderers. Torturers. Rapists. Looters. Who call themselves the army. And who deserve only death after what they did," he raged. "I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of the killed people in Bucha, in Irpin, in Hostomel. What did they do? Why were they killed?
He continued: "Even if you raised looters, how did they also become butchers? You couldn't be unaware of what's inside your children. You couldn't overlook that they are deprived of everything human. No soul. No heart. They killed deliberately and with pleasure."
Adding to the president's address, Ukrainian authorities accused departing Russian forces of committing war crimes and leaving behind a "scene from a horror movie". Bodies with bound hands, close-range gunshot wounds and signs of torture lay scattered across a city on the outskirts of Kyiv after Russian soldiers withdrew from the area.
As images of the bodies began to emerge from Bucha, a slew of European leaders condemned the atrocities and called for tougher sanctions against Moscow. So far, the bodies of 410 civilians have been found in Kyiv-area towns that were recently retaken from Russian forces, Ukraine’s prosecutor-general Iryna Venediktova said.
President Zelensky labelled the actions as genocide in an interview with CBS on Sunday, before Kyiv mayor Vitali Klitschko told German newspaper Bild that other nations should immediately end Russian gas imports, saying they were funding the killings. "Not a penny should go to Russia anymore," he said.
Russia responded to the accusations, meanwhile, by stating that images of the dead had been "stage-managed".
Back home Boris Johnson condemned Russia’s "despicable attacks" against Ukrainian civilians in Irpin and Bucha, adding that "we will not rest until justice is served".
The Prime Minister revealed that Polish and German leaders are set visit to Downing Street later this week for discussions on Nato and how to support Ukraine as it stands up to Russian aggression.
He added: "The UK has been at the forefront of supporting the International Criminal Court’s (ICC) investigation into atrocities committed in Ukraine. The Justice Secretary has authorised additional financial support and the deployment of specialist investigators – we will not rest until justice is served."
In other news President Zelensky urged musicians to support his nation in "any way you can, but not silence" in a special appearance via video link played at the 64th Grammy Awards ceremony on Sunday night. Mr Zelensky said music would "break through" the silence caused by the destruction of Russian forces.
"On our land we are fighting Russia which brings horrible silence with its bombs," he said. "The dead silence. Fill the silence with your music. Fill it today. To tell our story. Tell the truth about this war on your social networks, on TV. Support us in any way you can. But not silence.
"And then peace will come. To all our cities the war is destroying…They are legends already. But I have a dream of them living. And free. Free like you on the Grammys stage."
For more stories from where you live, visit InYourArea.
