Ukraine war: Borodianka devastation ‘significantly worse’

The situation in the Ukrainian city of Borodanka is “significantly more dire” than in the nearby town of Bucha, where Russian forces are suspected of killing civilians, the Ukrainian president has said.

More than 300 people have been killed by Russian forces in Bucharest – 50 of whom have been executed.

Moscow has denied targeting civilians, saying “verified images of dead bodies in the city were staged by the Ukrainian government to derail peace talks.”

But according to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, a similar situation exists in Borodianka, just 15 miles (25 km) below the road.

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In his overnight presidential address, Mr Jelensky said the extent of the damage and killings in Borodianka was becoming clear.

“Debris removal work has started in Borodianka … it’s even worse there,” he said.

“It simply came to our notice then.

“And what will happen when the world learns the whole truth about what the Russian military did in Mariupol?” There, on almost every street, was what the world saw in Bucha and other cities in the Kyiv region after the withdrawal of Russian troops.

“The same cruelty. The same heinous crime. “

He gave no further evidence or details of the Russian killings in the city.

Russian forces withdrew from Bucha last week under pressure from Ukrainian forces, but the relief of their departure soon turned to mourning as the level of killings in the city became apparent.

The West has widely condemned Russia as a war criminal, pushing for tougher sanctions.

Satellite images show corpses lying on a street for weeks and many with their hands tied behind their backs, suggesting executions.

Ukraine, meanwhile, says it aims to establish ten humanitarian corridors to evacuate stranded civilians.
Friday, but that civilians will have to use private cars to encircle Mariupol trying to escape.

According to British military intelligence, it is time for Russian forces in the north to withdraw completely from Ukraine to Belarus and Russia.

The Ministry of Defense (MoD) said on Friday that any major redeployment from the North could take at least a week, and that many of these forces would need “significant replenishment” before being deployed further.

The picture from Bucha says ‘on stage’ Russia

The war has now entered its seventh week and has seen millions flee Ukraine, thousands killed, thousands injured and once prosperous cities reduced to rubble.

Moscow says one of the goals of its military operation is to “liberate” most Russian-speaking areas, such as the southern port of Mariupol, from the threat of genocide by Ukrainian nationalists who say they have used civilians as human shields.

However, these claims have been widely rejected as baseless excuses for Russian aggression.

Spokesman for Vladimir Putin, He spoke in his first broadcast interview with the British media Since the aggression began, Sky News has been told that the images coming from Bucha are a “well-staged indication, nothing more”.

Dmitry Peskov told Mark Austin of Sky that “we are living in the days of lies and lies” and that attested photos and satellite images of dead civilians on the streets of Ukrainian cities were a “brave fake”.

He told Sky News: “We deny that there was any resemblance between the Russian military and the atrocities and that the bodies were shown on the streets of Booker.”

Analysis: The Kremlin acknowledges the value of war but will not face so-called war crimes

‘Russian lie catalog’

Critics have accused Mr Peskov of “living in a parallel universe” and running a “catalog of lies”.

Tom Tugenhat MP, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, called the interview a “catalog of lies” known for the “fraud and deception” of an “extraordinary administration”.

Christopher Steele, the former head of MI6’s Russia desk, has accused Russian leaders of “living in Alice in Wonderland World”.

The problem, he said, is that Mr Peskov and his colleagues “actually believe what they’re saying, or if they don’t and they’re just whimsical.”

“Because if they believe it, I think we have a real problem moving forward with any discussion.”

Russia fired from the Human Rights Council

In a symbolic move, the UN General Assembly on Thursday suspended Russia from the UN Human Rights Council, expressing “deep concern over the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis.”

Mr Zelensky called it a “significant step” because he called on the West to continue “coordinating pressure” on the Kremlin.

He said: “The Russian state and the Russian military are the biggest threat to the planet’s notion of freedom, human security, and human rights. After Booker, it is already clear.”

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Russia is the second country to lose its membership in the Security Council.

The other, Libya, was suspended by the legislature in 2011 when unrest in the country led to the fall of Muammar Gaddafi.