'Unknown number of atrocities' left in Russians' wake as they withdraw from parts of Ukraine
International outrage is increasing in Ukraine, where some of the residents in Bucha are still too afraid to leave their basements - as Correspondent Dan Rivers in Ukraine reports
Following the withdrawal of Russian troops from the areas around Kyiv, the bodies of hundreds of civilians have been discovered.
An ITV News team travelled to the area to report on the aftermath of the Russian assault where they witnessed "an unknown number of atrocities" left in the invaders' wake.
Russia faced a fresh wave of condemnation on Monday after evidence emerged of what appeared to be deliberate killings of civilians in Bucha, just outside the capital Kyiv.
Among the many atrocities was the killing of Olga Sukhenko, the mayor of a village that had been overrun with Russian soldiers.
She was buried along with her husband and 25-year-old son.
Many other bodies are yet to be exhumed from the sand, where ITV News found bloodied rope, used to tie the hands of those believed to be executed.
ITV News Reporter Dan Rivers says he has seen three mass graves and adds all the evidence points to Russia
On nearby highways, bodies were found still in their cars, where they killed while trying to flee.
In one of the more horrific reports, women were found on the roadside, dumped on tyres after officials believe they were raped, killed and burned.
Ukrainian politician Oleksiy Honcharenko told ITV News they do not know the exact number of deaths yet, but he pointed the finger squarely at Russia.
“We know that thousands of civilians [have been] killed, we don’t know the exact number,” he said.
“Second of all, I can tell you Russia is committing awful crimes, it’s sexual crimes, it’s just killings of adults, children, aged people, disabled. And that’s what we know for sure.
“And that is absolutely unprecedented. They just want to scare the nation, you cannot say it’s not Putin who just killed one of these people, they were Russian soldiers, living beings like we, just killing civilians.”
Meanwhile in Bucha, a city near to Kyiv, the bodies of five men were discovered bound and executed in the basement of a building which used to be a children's holiday camp.
Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelenskyy warned more atrocities will be laid bare as Russians withdraw from previously-occupied areas.
Even as the Russians left areas around Kyiv, many in Bucha are still too afraid to leave their basements, traumatised by the attacks they grew used to over the past few weeks.
The details around what happened in Bucha have not been independently verified, but what’s for sure is those executed would still be alive if it were not for Putin’s invasion, ITV News Correspondent Dan Rivers, who is in the city, said.