'Hands tied, they were shot to the back of the head': Ukraine accuses Russia of war crimes

An aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Sunday that Ukrainian troops had found the bodies of women who had been raped and set alight as well as the bodies of local officials and children. 

Lviv/Odesa: - Ukrainian and European officials expressed outrage on Sunday at what they said were atrocities committed by Russian forces near Kyiv before they withdrew from the region to focus their attacks elsewhere.

The mayor of Bucha, a town 37 km (23 miles) northwest of the capital, said on Saturday that 300 residents had been killed during a month-long occupation by the Russian army. Victims were seen by Reuters in a mass grave and still lying on the streets.

Ukraine said on Saturday that its forces had retaken all areas around the capital, reclaiming complete control of the region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion on Feb 24.

Russia has pulled back forces that had threatened Kyiv from the north to regroup for battles in eastern Ukraine. There was no Russian comment on the claim that the Kyiv region was entirely in Ukrainian hands and Reuters could not verify this. Russia has previously denied targetting civilians and rejected allegations of war crimes in what it calls a "special military operation" in Ukraine.

The Kremlin and the Russian defence ministry did not reply to requests for comment when asked on Saturday about the bodies found in Bucha. The defence ministry did not immediately respond when asked about this again on Sunday.