Visiting the town of Bucha, where Russian forces are accused of committing war crimes, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky on Monday told reporters, "We want you to show the world what happened here," per CNN.
Driving the news: As Ukrainian forces retook the Kyiv region and other areas over the weekend, officials and independent photographers reported bodies of civilians — some with their hands tied behind their backs — strewn in the streets of the city of Bucha.
- The European Union said Monday that it was working on a new batch of sanctions against Russia in response.
- The mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk, detailed the city's devastation in an interview with CNN on Monday, adding that "we will not forgive the Russian people for the atrocities that happened here."
- Russia's Defense Ministry has rejected the reports.
The big picture: Zelensky said it was "very important to us that the press is here," per CNN.
- "We want you to show the world what happened here. What the Russian military did. What the Russian Federation did in peaceful Ukraine. It was important for you to see that these were civilians," he said.
- Zelensky emphasized Ukraine's commitment to finding all those responsible for the atrocities, warning that "if we don't find a civilized solution," the Ukrainian people "will find a non-civilized solution" to deal with the situation, per CNN.
- "We are going to put maximum pressure. We shall not pause for one minute to find all the criminals and I think this will benefit civilization."
Zelensky visiting Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on April 4. Photo: Ronaldo Schemidt/AFP via Getty Images
Go deeper: What counts as a war crime and why they're so hard to prosecute
