'No different from Nazis…’ Ukrainian envoy accuses Russia of 'war crimes'

“Russian troops continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, erasing any difference with their Nazi predecessors 80 years ago," Sergiy Kyslytsya said while addressing the UNSC.

Terror against civilians and mass graves were counted among some of the 'war crimes' alleged by a Ukraine envoy at the United Nations on Tuesday as Russia's offensive entered Day 20 in the war-hit nation. The Ukrainian representative to the United Nations, Sergiy Kyslytsya, said that the Russian troops have ‘erased all difference’ between them and ‘their Nazi predecessors 80 years ago.

A Ukrainian firefighter helps a man remove belongings from a destroyed building after it was hit by artillery shelling in Kyiv, Ukraine, Monday. (AP Photo)

“Russian troops continue to commit war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine, erasing any difference with their Nazi predecessors 80 years ago. Cities, raising to the ground, mass graves, terror against civilians...,” the Ambassador said while addressing the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).

Urging the UN Security Council to facilitate the release of Meritopol's elected mayor, Ivan Fedorov, who has been allegedly detained amid the war, he said: “The mayor of Melitopol was detained by Russian soldiers on 11 March. He is reportedly being tortured due to his refusal to collaborate with the aggressor. I reiterate my call to UNSC to facilitate his release.”

Russia and Ukraine kept a fragile diplomatic path open with a new round of talks on Monday even as Moscow’s forces pounded away at Kyiv and other cities across the country in a punishing bombardment that the Red Cross said has created “nothing short of a nightmare” for the civilian population. A fresh round of talks will be held Tuesday.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden is expected to travel to Brussels next week to meet with NATO leaders to discuss Russia's war in Ukraine, U.S. and foreign sources familiar with the situation, Reuters reported.

At least 2,178 civilians have lost their lives in the port city of Mariupol since the fighting began on February 24, the city council said as per news agency AFP. At least 35 people were killed and 134 injured after Russian rockets targeted a military base near Lviv in Ukraine.

Millions more have fled their homes, with more than 2.8 million crossing into Poland and other neighbouring countries in what the United Nations has called Europe’s biggest refugee crisis since World War 2.