Horrific images spark Ukraine to accuse Russia of genocide near Kyiv

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of hundreds of civilians had been found in towns around the capital Kyiv after Russian troops withdrew.

The images of handcuffed corpses lying face down in the streets or hastily dug graves in Bucha unleashed a wave of outrage, with European leaders joining Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in calling it a genocide.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov rejected the allegations, describing the scenes outside Kyiv as a “stage-managed anti-Russian provocation”.

Poland’s Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki described Russia as a “totalitarian-fascist state,” saying “the bloody massacres perpetrated by Russian soldiers deserve to be called by name: This is genocide.” Spain’s Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez also used the word “genocide,” saying those responsible should answer for their crimes.

Warning: Graphic content. You may find the images below distressing.

Soldiers walk amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. April 3, 2022

A man walks near a mass grave in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ukraine. April 3, 2022.

A communal worker releases the wrists of a dead man, with his hands tied behind his back, in the town of Bucha, in the outskirts of Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ukraine. April 3

A woman walks amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. April 2, 2022

Communal workers carry a civilian in a body bag in the town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Ukraine. April 3, 2022

Communal workers carry a body of a civilian man in the town of Bucha, not far from the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv. April 3, 2022

A partially buried body is seen in a mass grave in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, Ukraine. April 3, 2022

A mass grave in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. April 3, 2022.

A dog drinks water next to destroyed Russian armoured vehicles in Bucha, Ukraine. April 3, 2022

Neighbours gather in Irpin after the town was liberated from the Russian troops, in the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. April 2, 2022

Crosses to honour civilians killed in Irpin mark a mass grave in the forest nearby, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine. April 2, 2022