The civilian death toll in Kyiv, Ukraine, has risen to 900, the regional police chief has confirmed.
Andriy Nebytov, the head of Kyiv’s regional police force, said more than 900 bodies have been discovered in the Kyiv region since the withdrawal of Russian troops, citing police data that indicated 95 percent had died from gunshot wounds.
He said: “Consequently, we understand that under the (Russian) occupation, people were simply executed in the streets."
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Nebytov added: “The most victims were found in Bucha, where there are more than 350 corpses."
The police chief said the bodies were abandoned in the streets or given temporary burials, and that more bodies are being found every day under rubble and in mass graves.
Nebytov also said utilities workers in Bucha had been gathering up bodies to bury them while the Kyiv suburb was still under Russian control, claiming Russian troops were 'tracking down' those who expressed any pro-Ukrainian views.
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Two civilians in the southern city of Kakhovka have also died of after a rocket was shot down, with a Facebook post shared by the city's municipal authorities warning locals to stay inside and keep away from any windows if they hear gunshots or explosions.
It said: “It was not a peaceful morning in Kakhovka. Five civilian residents with injuries were admitted to the Kakhovka Municipal Hospital. Two killed, three injured (one of them is in critical condition in intensive care, two have moderate injuries)."
The post aded that all five people had been hit by shrapnel after leaving their homes to see the remnants of a rocket that had been downed over nearby town Tavriisk. It has not been confirmed which country had launched the weapon or shot it down.
The Kakhovka authorities also warned locals to stay inside and not go near any windows if they hear gunshots or explosions.
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Meanwhile, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy told his country yesterday that it should feel proud of surviving 50 days under Russian attack, when Russians 'gave us a maximum of five'.
In a late-night video address, Zelenskyy said it was 'an achievement of millions of Ukrainians, of everyone who on February 24 made the most important decision of their life – to fight', also listing the various ways in which people had helped fend off Russian troops - including those who showed that Russian warships can sail away, even if it’s to the bottom', a reference to the Russian missile cruiser Moskva, which sank while it was being towed to port.
Topics: Ukraine
Jess Hardiman