Scene in Borodianka near Kyiv 'much more horrific' than Bucha: Zelenskyy
A toy and personal belongings among rubble in front of a destroyed residential building in the town of Borodianka, are seen in this April 6 photograph. The Russian retreat last week has left clues of the battle waged to keep a grip on Borodianka, just 50 kilometers (30 miles) northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv. AFP-Yonhap
The destruction left by Russian troops in the town of Borodianka outside of Kyiv is "much more horrific" than the situation uncovered in the nearby town of Bucha, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said Thursday.
"They have started sorting through the ruins in Borodianka," Zelenskyy said in his daily address to the nation. "It's much more horrific there, there are even more victims of Russian occupiers."
Russian troops withdrew from the Kyiv region about a week ago to regroup in the east, leaving scenes of death and horror in commuter towns around the capital.
Ukraine has accused the Russians of executing hundreds of peaceful civilians, some of whom were discovered dead with their hands tied behind their backs, as well as of torture and rape.
Ukraine's Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said earlier Thursday that rescue workers recovered 26 bodies from underneath two destroyed apartment buildings in Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv, again accusing Moscow of targeting civilian areas.
"Just in the rubble of two apartment blocks, 26 bodies were recovered," Venediktova said on Facebook. "Only the civilian population was targeted: there is no military site here," she said, adding it was "impossible to predict" how many more dead there were at the site.
Venediktova said the Russians had used cluster bombs and heavy multiple rocket launchers "that bring death and destruction."
"Evidence of the Russian forces' war crimes is at every turn," she wrote.
"The enemy treacherously shelled residential infrastructure in the evenings, when there was a maximum amount of people home," Venediktova said.
"Their only aim was the civilian population, there are no military facilities around here."
She accused Russian forces of engaging in "killings, torture and beatings" of civilians, as well as sexual assault.
Venediktova said Ukrainian law enforcement officers were collecting evidence from Borodianka for local and international courts. (AFP)