Last Russian-Ukrainian war: Zelenskiy calls Russian forces “butchers” after the discovery of civilian mass graves around kyiv – live | world news

Satellite images of the Ukrainian town of Bucha claim to show a trench about 45 feet long dug into the floor of a church believed to be a mass grave for murdered civilians.

The images, captured by private US space technology company Maxar Technologies on March 31, show signs of excavations on the grounds of the Church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints, the company said.

Reuters reporters who visited Bucha on Saturday said they observed a mass grave in a church, describing seeing hands and feet breaking through red clay.

Maxar Technologies, which collects and publishes satellite images of Ukraine, said the first signs of excavation of a mass grave at the Church of St Andrew and Pyervozvannoho All Saints were seen on March 10.

“A more recent coverage from March 31 shows the grave site with a trench about 45 feet long in the southwest part of the area near the church,” Maxar said.

The Guardian could not immediately verify the footage.

Ukraine’s military just released its operational report at 6am this morning, saying Russia has launched a “hidden mobilization” of around 60,000 troops to replenish units lost in Ukraine.

The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation plan to engage about 60,000 people during the mobilization,” the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine said.

Officials added that Ukrainian forces had thwarted seven attacks on Donetsk and Luhansk territory in the past 24 hours.

Hello, it’s Samantha Lock with you as we continue to deliver the latest developments from Ukraine.

Distressing reports are emerging from the towns of Bucha, Irpin and Hostomel, near the capital kyiv, where the discovery of the bodies of unarmed civilians in mass graves and on the side of roads has prompted world leaders to call for independent investigations into the war crimes.

Here’s an overview of what we know so far:

• Ukraine has accused Russian forces of committing war crimes and a ‘massacre’ in Buchaa city just 30 km northwest of the capital kyiv, after tThe bodies of unarmed Ukrainian civilians and mass graves were found on Sunday. Bodies of civilians – many with their hands tied, gunshot wounds at point-blank range and signs of torture – were found on the streets after Ukrainian troops recaptured the town.
• Ukrainian prosecutors say they found 410 body in the cities near kyiv, and 140 bodies had been examined by Sunday. Russia has denied the allegations that its forces had killed civilians as it withdrew from war-torn parts of the country.
• Satellite images of Bucha appear to show a trench about 45 feet long dug in the floor of a church where a mass grave was identified.
• World leaders have condemned the killings and called for independent investigations. French President Emmanuel Macron, UN Secretary-General António Guterres, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and US Ambassador to the UN Linda Thomas-Greenfield have all publicly condemned Russia’s actions .
• the US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the killings as ‘a punch in the stomach’ and joined Western allies in promising to document atrocities to hold perpetrators accountable.
• Russia called the situation in Bucha a “provocation” of Ukraine intended to disrupt the peace talks. The Kremlin’s foreign ministry said Russia wants a UN Security Council meeting on the issue. Its defense ministry described the photos and videos as “another staging of the kyiv regime”. Dmitry Polyansky, Russia’s deputy representative to the UN Security Council, tweeted on Sunday: “In light of the heinous provocation of the Ukrainian radicals in Bucha, Russia has requested a meeting of the UN Security Council on Monday april 4th.
• Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy called Russian forces ‘murderers’, ‘torturers’ and ‘rapists’ after the murders came to light, describing the Kremlin-ordered attack on his country as amounting to genocide. “How did they also become butchers? … They killed deliberately and with pleasure,” he said Sunday night in a nationwide address. He vowed to investigate and prosecute all Russian “crimes” in Ukraine.
• Ukrainian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dymtro Kuleba, said Bucha was a ‘deliberate massacre’ while speaking on Times Radio on Sunday. Describing Russia as “worse than Daesh”, he said Russian forces were guilty of murder, torture, rape and looting. He also urged G7 countries to immediately impose “devastating” sanctions.
• Zelenskiy criticized the West’s ‘policy of concessions to Russia’ at the approach of war. Describing Ukraine’s past pursuit of NATO membership: “They thought that by refusing Ukraine they could appease Russia, convince them to respect Ukraine and live normally next to us. .. I invite Mrs. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy to visit Bucha and see what the policy of concessions to Russia has achieved in 14 years. See with your own eyes the tortured Ukrainian men and women.
• Russian forces continued their attacks on other Ukrainian towns. Seven people died and 34 were injured after a residential area in Kharkiv was hit Sunday, local prosecutors said.
• At least 70% of Chernihiv has been destroyed by Russian forces, the mayor of the city said sunday. Vladyslav Atroshenko said the “consequences” of the attacks were severe and mirrored those of other badly damaged cities in Ukraine such as Bucha and Mariupol.
• Taking Mariupol is a ‘key objective’ of the Russian invasionthe UK Ministry of Defense said as heavy fighting continued in the southeastern city.
• Russian missiles hit ‘critical infrastructure’, most likely a fuel depot, near the port of Odessa in southern Ukraine in the early hours of Sunday, but there were no casualties, city officials said.
• The European Union should consider a ban on gas imports from Russiasaid German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht.
• The scale of sexual violence endured by women and girls in Ukraine began to emerge as victims recount the abuse they suffered at the hands of Russian soldiers.
• the The United Nations’ the human rights office says there has been 3,455 civilian casualties since the start of the war in Ukraine. The figure includes more than 1,400 deaths and more than 2,000 injuries, but the true number is believed to be significantly higher, the agency said in a recently released report.
• Zelenskiy appeared in a video message at the Grammy Awardscalling on viewers to “fill the silence with your music” and “speak the truth about the war” on social media and on TV.

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