Zelenskyy: Atrocities in Borodyanka 'more horrific' than Bucha

8 April 2022, 06:43

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has described the scenes in the town of Borodyanka as "more horrific" than the atrocities in Bucha.

It comes after as it was revealed that Russian troops left injured civilians to die in the rubble of their destroyed homes for around a week.

Mr Zelenskyy used his nightly presidential address to draw attention to the amount of damage and killings that had been uncovered in the town.

He said: "They have started sorting through the ruins in Borodyanka.

"It's much more horrific there, there are even more victims of Russian occupiers.

"And what will happen when the world learns the whole truth about what the Russian military did in Mariupol?

"There, on almost every street, is what the world saw in Bucha and other towns in the Kyiv region after the withdrawal of Russian troops.

"The same cruelty. The same heinous crimes."

It comes after images and videos from Bucha shocked the world, with civilian bodies seen scattered across the town.

More than 300 people were killed by Russian forces in Bucha - 50 having been executed.

The Kremlin has denied targeting civilians, suggesting images of the bodies were instead staged by the Ukrainian Government.

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Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said on Thursday that rescue workers recovered 26 bodies from underneath two bombed apartment buildings in Borodyanka, once again accusing Russia of targeting civilian areas.

She said on Facebook: "Just in the rubble of two apartment blocs, 26 bodies were recovered.

"Only the civilian population was targeted: there is no military site here."

Ms Venediktova went on to explain that it would be "impossible" to find out how many more dead there were at the site, claiming Moscow has used cluster bombs and rocket launchers.

"Evidence of the Russian forces' war crimes is at every turn," she added.

"The enemy treacherously shelled residential infrastructure in the evenings, when there was a maximum amount of people home."

Meanwhile, the UN's General Assembly suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council in a historic vote on Thursday.

The resolution expressed "grave concern at the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Ukraine", particularly at reports of rights abuses by Russia.

Suspensions from the human rights council are extremely rare, with Libya having also been suspended in 2011 over attacks on protesters by forces loyal to the country's then-leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council and cannot be removed.