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'Investigators have documented over 400 Russian war crimes,' says Zelenskyy

'Russian army left behind the same savagery it did in other regions of the country'

volodymyr zelenskyy File: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy appears via remote during the opening ceremony of the 75th international film festival, Cannes, southern France, Tuesday, May 17, 2022 | AP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his nightly address on Sunday said, “Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes. Bodies of dead civilians and servicemen have been found,” DW reported. Zelenskyy has accused Russian soldiers of committing war crimes in Kherson, which was retaken by Ukraine last week.

“The Russian army left behind the same savagery it did in other regions of the country it entered,” he said. The crimes are yet to be verified. Russia has denied accusations that its troops have targeted civilians intentionally. 

War crimes had been committed in Ukraine, a UN commission told in October. And added that Russia is responsible for a majority of them. 

Since Russia invaded Ukraine on February 24, mass graves have been found in several places across the country. Civilians' bodies have been found with torture markings in the Kharkiv region and in Bucha, near Kyiv. Kyiv had accused Moscow of committing the crimes. 

Moscow's recent withdrawal from Kherson signifies a major setback for Russia. Kherson was the only regional capital Russia had captured since the beginning of the invasion. Citizens expressed great relief after Russia withdrew from the Kherson region after months of occupation. In September Russian President Vladimir Putin's claim that the region had been annexed by Moscow was denounced by the West and dubbed illegal by Kyiv.

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