War in Ukraine: Latest developments

Here are the latest developments in the war in Ukraine:

– Outrage over civilian killings –

Global outrage grows over the discovery of dozens of bodies in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, some with their hands bound, after the withdrawal of Russian forces from the area west of Kyiv.

Britain, France, Germany, the United States, NATO and the United Nations voice horror after the reports of civilians being murdered and AFP pictures showing a street littered with corpses.

French President Emmanuel Macron says there are “very clear indications of war crimes” and backs calls by fellow EU leaders, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, for further sanctions on Moscow.

President Volodymyr Zelensky calls Russian troops “murderers, torturers, rapists, looters” who “deserve only death after what they did”.

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki calls for an international investigation into what he termed a “genocide” carried out by Russian troops.

– Hundreds of bodies –

Ukrainian prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova says 410 civilian bodies were recovered from areas around Kyiv recently retaken from Russian forces.

AFP sees at least 20 bodies, all in civilian clothing, strewn across a single street in Bucha.

Bucha’s mayor Anatoly Fedoruk says 280 bodies were buried in mass graves.

– Russian denials –

Russia’s defence ministry says “not a single local resident” in Bucha suffered violence, accusing Ukraine of bombarding its own suburbs and falsifying images of corpses in “another production” for Western media.

Moscow calls for a special UN Security Council meeting to discuss what it calls the actions of “Ukrainian radicals”.

A senior Washington official says the move is designed to “feign outrage”.

– Zelensky addresses Grammys –

Zelensky makes a surprise appearance at the Grammy music awards, appearing in a pre-taped video urging support for his country.

“Our musicians wear body armour instead of tuxedos,” he says. “They sing to the wounded in hospitals — even to those who can’t hear them. But the music will break through anyway.”

– Full isolation ‘impossible’ –

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov says it is not possible to isolate Russia entirely, telling Russian state television that the world is “much larger than Europe”.

– Strikes in east, south –

Russia steps up its attacks in eastern Ukraine, killing seven people and wounding 34 in strikes on a residential area of the country’s second largest city Kharkiv, according to local authorities.

Russian forces also shell the nearby town of Dergachi, leaving at least three civilians dead and wounding seven, its mayor says.

Six people are reportedly killed in the eastern Donetsk region by strikes and one in the east Ukrainian town of Rubizhne, where Russian forces are accused of targeting a local hospital.

Russia also maintains its offensive in southern Ukraine.

One person is killed and 14 injured after a Russian strike on the city of Mykolaiv, according to the local governor, and the strategic Black Sea port of Odessa is also targeted in air strikes.

– Too soon for peace summit –

Russia’s chief negotiator Vladimir Medinsky says it is too early for a top-level meeting between Zelensky and Putin on ending the conflict.

He says Kyiv has become “more realistic” in its approach to issues related to the neutral and non-nuclear status of Ukraine but a draft agreement for submission to a summit meeting is not ready.