UN chief says 'deeply shocked' over Ukraine mass killings, calls for probe

Ukraine-Russia war: Several images of bodies shoved in mass graves, lying on streets emerged, have sparked a global outrage as Kyiv accuses of Moscow of war crimes.

UN Secretary-General Anotnio Guterres on Sunday called for an independent investigation into the mass killings of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, as horrific images emerged on social media from the Bucha town near the capital city of Kyiv of bodies strewn across streets, with hands tied. Expressing that he is “deeply shocked” by the images of the mass killings, Guterres wrote on Twitter, “I am deeply shocked by the images of civilians killed in Bucha, Ukraine. It is essential that an independent investigation leads to effective accountability.”

File photo of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. (AFP)

UN Humanitarian Coordinator for Ukraine Osnat Lubrani on Sunday, responding to Guterres' statement said that “Ukrainians are enduring a living hell for more than a month, thousands of civilians have died.” She called for the “horrific war” to stop.

Several images of bodies shoved in mass graves, lying on streets emerged, have sparked a global outrage as Kyiv accuses of Moscow of war crimes. "Russian occupants committed terrible atrocities in one of the houses. They set up rooms to detain & torture civilians, whom they shot on their knees with their hands tied. Barbaric, inhuman, disgraceful. Stronger sanctions against🇷🇺must be applied now. (sic)," Ukraine minister Emine Dzheppar tweeted, sharing a disturbing video.

However, Russia on Sunday denied Ukrainian allegations that it had killed civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha. Russia described the footage and photographs of dead bodies as a "provocation" and a "staged performance" by Kyiv. "All the photos and videos published by the Kyiv regime, allegedly testifying to the 'crimes' of Russian servicemen in the city of Bucha, Kyiv region, are another provocation," Russia's defence ministry said in a statement.