Mass grave of 400 Ukrainian victims unearthed in Bucha as war crimes probe strikes Russian atrocities

UKRAINE yesterday began the grim task of digging a mass grave believed to hold at least 400 victims of Russian atrocities.

A JCB excavator helped the workers in Bucha pulling corpses out of the mud as Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of “inhumane cruelty” to civilians.

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A report by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe – that counts Russia as a member – said there were “clear patterns” of Russian war crimes, including Torture, rape and murder.

It came as officials revealed at least 25 women, including a 14-year-old girl, had been there raped by occupying forces.

That said the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan Ukraine was now a crime scene.

And US President Joe Biden has for the first time accused Russia of genocide. “Yes, I called it genocide,” he said.

He continued: “It is becoming increasingly clear that Putin is only trying to erase the idea of ​​being Ukrainian at all.”

The Kremlin’s denials rang hollow when a group of OSCE experts said they had found credible evidence Russian war crimes.

They accused Russian forces of deliberately blitzing hospitals, including a mother-child unit, in the port city Mariupol and found evidence of forced deportations to Russia and failure to open humanitarian corridors

Its preliminary report states: “Russian forces have inflicted a widespread and systematic pattern of damage to Ukrainian health facilities through indiscriminate bombing and, in some cases, deliberate attacks.

“Deliberate attacks on hospitals and collection centers for the sick and wounded are a war crime.”

The Foreign Office said Russia was facing “growing evidence of atrocities,” including sexual violence, committed by its armed forces.

It said: “Those responsible must be held accountable.”

The OSCE report also noted that violations “occurred on the Ukrainian side.” But it said: “The violations committed by the Russian Federation are far greater in scope and nature.”

Ukrainian officials said more than 700 people had been killed in Kiev’s suburbs and at least 200 were still missing after Russian troops withdrew.

They warned tolls would rise as rescuers searched the rubble and survivors gave evidence.

In the southern village of Pravdyne, Russian troops were accused of shooting dead six men and a woman before blowing up their house yesterday to cover up the evidence.

It comes amid fears that Russian forces will unleash a second carnage with a new major offensive in the east.

Russian President Vladimir Putin The warned peace talks have now “reached a dead end”.

Officials said Russia is ready to launch attacks on Donetsk and the neighboring Zaporizhia region, where refugees have fled the Mariupol carnage.

If Mariupol falls, Russian forces could free up for a second attack.

However, the US has announced this Sending an additional $800 million of weapons, including artillery pieces and helicopters, to counter this.

In northern Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, the Russians stepped up artillery bombardments on front-line apartments in the Saltivka district.

In the last 24 hours, at least seven people are said to have died and 22 injured in the wider Kharkiv province.

President Zelenskyy fears an “endless bloodbath” if the West does not send heavy weapons.

He said: “We need heavy artillery, air defense systems and fighter jets. Anything to repel Russian forces.”

The presidents of Poland, Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania traveled to Kyiv yesterday to show their support for the Ukrainian leader.

But he snubbed Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier because he was snuggling up to Russia.

• NATO should double its troops on the Russian border to prevent a possible invasion, Estonia’s permanent defense minister Kusti Salm said.

Help those fleeing conflict with The Sun’s Ukraine Fund

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