ROAD OF DEATH
Bodies of Ukrainian civilians strewn on roads after Russian troops retreat with ‘hundreds buried in mass graves’
THE bodies of Ukrainian civilians lay strewn in roads today after Russian forces retreated from Kyiv.
Harrowing images show a number of bodies in civilian clothing lying in the streets of Bucha, 23 miles northwest of the capital.
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One video, which The Sun has chosen not to show, sees patrol cars zig-zagging through the corpses, desperately checking for life.
Journalists on the ground reported at least 20 bodies, all in civilian clothing, strewn across a single street in the town of Bucha, near Irpin.
Three of the innocent victims were tangled in bicycles after taking their final ride, while others had fallen next to bullet-ridden, shelled-out cars.
And at least nine of the bodies appeared to have been executed.
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AFP journalists reported two of the bodies had their hands tied behind their backs while man had his Ukrainian passport left open beside him.
They were all in civilian clothes and at least three were naked from the waist up.
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One appeared to have been shot in the chest from close range.
Referring to the reports, Kyiv's mayor, Vitali Klitschko, told German daily Bild on Sunday what happened in Bucha and other suburbs of Kyiv can only be described as genocide.
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Klitschko said Russian President Vladimir Putin was responsible for these "cruel war crimes," adding civilians had been shot with tied hands.
Meanwhile, Bucha's mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk, said 300 of his town's residents had been killed during a month-long occupation by the Russians, with the majority of victims now piled into a mass grave while others lie on the streets.
Liz Truss last night said she was appalled by the atrocities, describing the "targeting of innocent civilians abhorrent".
The Foreign Secretary added the UK was working to collect evidence and support for the International Criminal Court's inquiry into potential war crimes.
It comes as Ukraine said it had regained control of the Kyiv region, with Russian troops retreating from around the capital and Chernigiv city.
RUSSIANS 'RETREAT'
Ukrainian officials said on Saturday their forces had taken back more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion.
"The whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader," Ukrainian Deputy Defence Minister Hanna Malyar wrote on Facebook.
But there is too much sorrow for celebration.
The roads are mined, homes are destroyed and thousands of those who fled have been told, for now, not to return.
After more than five weeks of brutal fighting, Russia is also understood to have regrouped for battles in eastern Ukraine.
President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a video address: "They are mining all this territory. Houses are mined, equipment is mined, even the bodies of dead people."
He did not cite any evidence but the claims were echoed by Mayor Fedoruk, who said bodies had not been collected due to fears Russians had booby-trapped them.
Ukraine's emergencies service said more than 1,500 explosives had been found in one day during a search of the village of Dmytrivka, west of the capital.
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Russia's defence ministry did not reply to a request for comment on the mining allegations and they have not been verified.
Moscow denies targeting civilians and rejects war crimes allegations.
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