A grave containing dozens of Ukrainian civilians has been uncovered near Kyiv, an official said. It is also the latest mass grave to be found as Russian soldiers withdraw from the city and concentrate their attack on the east.
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According to Taras Didych, head of the Dmytrivka community, which contains Buzova, the remains were discovered in a ditch near a gas station. The death toll had not been confirmed.
“Now we are returning to life but during the occupation we had our ‘hotspots’, many civilians died,” Didych remarked on Saturday.
Increased civilian casualties have sparked a new round of international outrage, particularly over hundreds of killings in the town of Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, which was controlled by Russian forces until last week.
Ukraine and the West have charged Russian servicemen in Bucha with war crimes.
Russia has failed to seize a single major city since the invasion began on February 24, but Ukraine claims Russia is amassing forces in the east in preparation for a major assault and has advised civilians to escape.
According to the British defence ministry, Russia is attempting to construct a land corridor between Crimea, which it annexed in 2014, and the eastern Donbas region, which is partially controlled by Moscow-backed separatists.
Several cities there are being shelled heavily, leaving tens of thousands of civilians unable to flee.
“This will be a hard battle, we believe in this fight and our victory. We are ready to simultaneously fight and look for diplomatic ways to put an end to this war,” President Volodymyr Zelenskiy stated this in a late Saturday address.
According to Zelenskiy, Russia’s use of force was “a catastrophe that will inevitably hit everyone”.
Zelenskiy urged the West to put a total ban on Russian energy goods and to increase arms supplies to Ukraine.
On Saturday in Kyiv, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson met with Zelenskiy and promised armored vehicles and anti-ship missile systems, as well as further help for World Bank loans.
Britain will also intensify its sanctions against Russia and phase out the use of Russian hydrocarbons.
Johnson, speaking to reporters alongside Zelenskiy, stated that support for Ukraine was aimed to ensure the country “can never be bullied again, never will be blackmailed again, never will be threatened in the same way again”
Johnson was the latest foreign leader to pay a visit to Kyiv following Russia’s withdrawal of military from the region.
The trips indicate that Kyiv is regaining some semblance of normalcy.
Several residents have returned, and cafes and restaurants have reopened. Italy announced that it would reopen its embassy this month.
According to British military intelligence, Russia’s retreat from the capital region indicated “disproportionate” civilian targeting.
Ukraine has prohibited all imports from Russia, which was a significant trading partner prior to the war, with yearly imports worth approximately $6 billion.
AFRICA DAILY NEWS, NEW YORK
