Zelenskyy Says Russia Installed Mine Bombs Around Ukrainian Civilian's Homes Until Corpses On The Street

Russia bombards the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv. (Wikimedia Commns /Kyivcity.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy claims Russia left booby traps in the form of bomb mines in many areas of Ukraine, including the neighborhoods where civilians live and even placed in corpses.

Russian troops are known to have started withdrawing from several areas in Ukraine and especially the capital Kyiv on Monday 28 April.

"They put mines all over the area. They put mines on houses, mining equipment, even on the bodies of people who were killed. There are a lot of trip wires, a lot of other dangers," Zelenskyy said, quoted from News.com.au, Sunday 3 April.

Zelenskyy made the remarks after declining to comment on whether he ordered air strikes on Russian-occupied land as thousands of refugees from Mariupol and other cities in southeastern Ukraine were evacuated from conflict areas.

Meanwhile, thousands of refugees who boarded dozens of buses were reported to have arrived in Zaporizhzhia on Friday evening local time. It is the largest evacuation of civilians from a Russian-occupied city in Ukraine since the war began, the International Red Cross said in a statement.

As the bus group entered a shopping center on the outskirts of Zaporizhzhia, some refugees wept in relief at returning to Ukrainian-controlled territory.

“We cried when we reached this area. We cried when we saw soldiers at the checkpoint with the Ukrainian crest on their arms," Olena, holding her young daughter, told AFP.

“My house was destroyed. I saw it in the photo. Our city no longer exists," he continued.

Mariupol has been in complete ruin since Russia's invasion of Ukraine. Food and water are difficult to access as the area is under heavy bombardment.

Peace talks between the Russian and Ukrainian delegations are reportedly continuing. Delegations from the two countries are known to have continued to meet daily via video conference for the past few weeks.

However, the Russian delegation warned that a helicopter attack on a fuel depot in the city of Belgorod was an obstacle to the peace negotiations.