Ukraine accuses Russia of 'deliberate massacre' of civilians after bodies found in Bucha town near Kyiv

Amid the ongoing war, Ukraine has accused Russia of deliberately massacring civilians. The killing of civilians in the town of Bucha near the Ukrainian capital was a "deliberate massacre", Ukraine Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Sunday, AFP reported.

"Bucha massacre was deliberate. Russians aim to eliminate as many Ukrainians as they can. We must stop them and kick them out," Kuleba wrote on Twitter.

Kuleba further called on the G7 nations to impose "new devastating" sanctions on Russia.

"I demand new devastating G7 sanctions NOW," he wrote.

In the town of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, the bodies of nearly 300 civilians were found, some in mass graves, after Russian troops withdrew, local officials have said.

"In Bucha, we have already buried 280 people in mass graves," mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told AFP by phone. "All these people were shot, killed, in the back of the head," Fedoruk said.

"Many of the bodies had white bandages on them to show that they were unarmed," he said.

On Saturday, at least 20 dead civilians were found lying scattered through the streets of the Ukrainian country town of Bucha, three days after the Russian army pulled back after a month-long occupation of the area. The Russian defence ministry has so far not made any comments related to the incident.

Comparing the brutality of Russian forces to the Nazi era, Ukrainian presidential adviser Mykhaylo Podolyak tweeted, "Kyiv region. 21st century Hell. Bodies of men and women, who were killed with their hands tied. The worst crimes of Nazism have returned to EU."

Reportedly, Ukrainian forces regained control of Bucha this week. The town had been inaccessible for almost a month as it was held by Russian forces.

According to a Reuters report, the Human Rights Watch (HRW) has accused Russian forces of 'apparent war crimes' in Ukraine and issued a statement saying it had found "several cases of Russian military forces committing laws-of-war violations" in Russian-controlled regions such as Chernihiv, Kharkiv, and Kyiv.

Multiple evidence has emerged of possible civilian killings around Kyiv as the Russian army has pulled back in the face of ferocious resistance from Ukrainian forces.

(with sources inputs)