JAKARTA - Ukrainian authorities have found 410 bodies in cities near Kyiv, as part of Russia's investigation of possible war crimes, while some witnesses are so traumatized by their ordeal that they are unable to speak, the country's top prosecutor said on Sunday.
After Russia withdrew from several areas around Kyiv, the mayor of Bucha, a liberated city 37 km (23 miles) northwest of the capital, said about 300 residents had been killed by Russian forces, while Chechen fighters controlled the area.
Russia has denied allegations that its troops killed civilians in Bucha. Moscow says no residents have suffered from the violence from Russian troops, accusing Kyiv of carrying out what it considers a fabricated provocation for the Western media.
Ukrainian prosecutors were able to enter the cities of Bucha, Irpin, and Hostomel for the first time on Sunday. They need more time to figure out the extent of the crime, said Attorney General Iryna Venedyktova.
"We need to work with witnesses," Venedyktova said.
"People today are so stressed that they can't physically speak," he said.
He said 140 bodies had been examined so far, but he would ask the health ministry to provide as many forensic experts as possible to field hospitals in the Kyiv region.
"Hundreds of people died. Tortured, executed civilians. Corpses in the streets. Mined areas. Even the bodies of the dead were mined," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said separately.
Zelensky said it was clear the West would impose a new set of sanctions on Russia, but he said it was not enough.
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Meanwhile, Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskiy said hundreds of civilians had been killed, but he did not want to say exactly how many, as efforts were still being made to clear mines in the area.
"Many local residents are considered missing. We cannot give exact figures, but there are many people," he said.
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