Russia-Ukraine war latest: Russian warship sunk by Ukraine missile strike, say US
Kyiv officials claim to have found bodies of hundreds of murdered civilians
More than 900 civilian bodies have been discovered in the region surrounding Kyiv following the withdrawal of Russian forces — almost all of them shot dead, the Associated Press quotes local police as saying.
The number is double that announced by Ukrainian authorities almost two weeks ago and the presence of the gunshot wounds indicates many were “simply executed”, officers said.
Andriy Nebytov, the head of Kyiv’s regional police force, said the bodies were abandoned in the streets or given temporary burials. He cited police data indicating that 95% died from gunshot wounds, AP reports.
Consequently, we understand that under the [Russian] occupation, people were simply executed in the streets.
More bodies are being found every day, under rubble and in mass graves, he added.
The largest number of victims were found in Bucha; where there were more than 350.
According to Nebytov, utilities workers in Bucha gathered and buried bodies in the Kyiv suburb while it remained under Russian control. Russian troops, he added, were “tracking down” people who expressed strong pro-Ukraine views.
AFP: Thousands of faithful attended the “Way of the Cross” prayer service, presided over by Pope Francis at Rome’s Colosseum on Friday, a ceremony overtaken by the war in Ukraine.
It was the first time the traditional event on Good Friday, which marks the day Jesus Christ died on the cross in the Christian calendar, was held at the Roman monument since 2019, due to the Covid pandemic.
The pope, who has repeatedly condemned the conflict in Ukraine, and has called for an Easter ceasefire, prayed that the “adversaries shake hands” and “taste mutual forgiveness”.
“Disarm the raised hand of brother against brother,” he said.
Among the families who were entrusted with carrying the crucifix at each of the 14 stations of the cross were two women, one Russian and one Ukrainian, who are life-long friends.
The women carried the cross during one portion of the Way of the Cross, the traditional procession that commemorates the 14 stations of Jesus’ suffering and death, from his condemnation to his burial.
But the Vatican’s initiative, intended as a gesture of reconciliation in the face of the war that began February 24, was not well received by Ukrainian officials.
On Tuesday, the head of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church, Bishop Sviatoslav Shevchuk, denounced an “inappropriate, premature and ambiguous idea, which does not take into account the context of Russia’s military aggression”.
For his part, the Ukrainian ambassador to the Holy See said he “shared the general concern”.
In a sign of the sensitivity of the issue, the Ukrainian media boycotted the broadcast of the ceremony, while the Vatican had added commentary in Ukrainian and Russian for the broadcast.
In the crowd at the event, Anastasia Goncharova, an 18-year-old tourist from Kyiv, said “I don’t think it’s a really good idea because we are no longer brother nations. They are killing our children, they are raping our children, stealing our house. It’s disgusting”
In the end the two Russian and Ukrainian friends did carry the crucifix together. A contemplative silence replaced an original text for the occasion, which was intended to deal more specifically with the war in Ukraine.
Most of those attending welcomed the Vatican’s Russia-Ukraine initiative.
“It is the cross, and therefore the pain of these two peoples, but also hope, because we believe that after the war there will be peace. It is very beautiful,” said Bethouart.
More air raid sirens across Ukraine reported in the last hour, in the capital Kyiv, as well as in the central and western regions of the country including Rivne, Lviv, Ivano-Frankivsk, Volyn, Khmelnytsky, Vinnytsia, Zhytomyr.
The Associated Press fact-checking unit has assessed some videos flying around purporting to be the destruction of the Moskva. Upshot: they’re not.
The clips, which some have claimed shows missiles striking the Russian warship, is actually 2013 footage of a Norwegian Navy test missile strike.
Following the destruction of the Moskva – which Ukraine claims they hit with anti-ship missiles but Russia says was a victim of bad weather and an on-board fire – social media users shared images and videos out of context to claim they showed the aftermath of an attack.
One such widely-shared video showed a large warship…
Read More:Russia-Ukraine war latest: Russian warship sunk by Ukraine missile strike, say US