Ukraine has accused the Russian army of having committed a massacre in Bucha

Images from the commuter town of Bucha show dead bodies in the street.

The circumstances of their deaths are being investigated. 

Reports said that at least two of them had large head wounds.  

The corpses of 57 people were found in a mass grave behind a church in the town’s centre, according to Serhiy Kaplychniy, chief of local rescue efforts.

The images were released days after Russian forces withdrew from the Kyiv region around March 30.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky: “These are war crimes, and they will be recognized by the world as genocide. You are here today and see what happened. We know of thousands of people killed and tortured, with severed limbs, raped women, murdered children. I think it is more than…This is a genocide.”

Russia has denied the accusations.

Russia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs tweeted: “The bodies of the people whose images have been published by the Kyiv regime are not stiffened after at least four days.” 

Many have called for an independent investigation, including Secretary-General of the United Nations António Guterres:”I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine”, Guterres wrote on his official Twitter account, “it is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability.”