Ukraine said Saturday it has regained control of the Kyiv region, with Russian troops retreating from around the capital and Chernigiv city, as evidence emerged of possible civilian killings in areas the invading forces have been occupying.
AFP reporters saw at least 20 bodies on a single street in the town of Bucha near the capital city, including one with his hands tied, and the body of a missing photographer was discovered in a nearby village.
"What is the aim of the Russian forces? They want to seize both Donbass and the south of Ukraine," Zelensky said in a video address late Saturday. "What is our goal? To defend our freedom, our land and our people." Putin ordered tanks into Russia's pro-Western neighbour on February 24, and Ukraine estimates 20,000 people have been killed in the war so far.Pope Francis spoke of "icy winds of war" again sweeping over Europe as he brought up the conflict Saturday at the outset of his trip to Malta -- and made what appeared to be a barely veiled reference to Putin.
In Bucha, 16 of the 20 corpses found on one street were lying either on the pavement or by the verge. Three were sprawled in the middle of the road, and another lay on his side in the courtyard of a destroyed house. And in Russia, hundreds of people gathered across the country Saturday to protest the war in Ukraine. Police detained 211 people in several cities, including more than 20 people in a Moscow park under heavy snowfall, according to OVD-Info, a group that monitors arrests.Russia's efforts to consolidate its hold on southern and eastern areas of Ukraine have been hampered by the resistance of Mariupol despite devastating attacks lasting weeks.
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