Ukrainian authorities were investigating possible war crimes by Russia after finding hundreds of bodies, some bound and shot at close range, strewn around towns near Kyiv after Kremlin forces withdrew to refocus their attacks in other parts of the country.
In the town of Bucha, 37 km northwest of Kyiv's city centre, Reuters reporters saw a man lay sprawled by the roadside, his hands tied behind his back and a bullet wound to his head.
Pictures of the destruction and apparent violence towards civilians sparked widespread condemnation of Russia and leader Vladimir Putin. U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the images as"a punch in the gut," while United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called for an independent investigation.
Russia requested the U.N. Security Council convene on Monday to discuss what Moscow called a"provocation by Ukrainian radicals" in Bucha. Ukraine's foreign minister called on the International Criminal Court to collect evidence of what he called Russian war crimes. The foreign ministers of France and Britain said their countries would support any such probe.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy appeared in a video aired at the Grammy Awards in the United States and appealed to viewers to support Ukrainians"in any way you can".Missiles struck near Odesa on Sunday, with Russia saying it had destroyed an oil refinery used by the Ukrainian military. The Odesa city council said"critical infrastructure facilities" were hit.
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