Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Thursday that the situation in the city of Borodyanka is “significantly more dire” than in nearby Buka, where the suspected killings of civilians by the Russian military have been widely condemned. Local officials said more than 300 people were killed and about 50 of them killed by Russian forces in Buka, 35 kilometers northwest of the capital Kyiv.
Moscow has denied targeting civilians and said the images of bodies in Bucha were staged by the Ukrainian government to justify more sanctions against Moscow and derail peace talks. “The work to clear the rubble in Borodianka has begun … It’s quite terrible there. The Russian occupiers are suffering even more,” Zelensky said in a video posted on the Telegram messaging service.