Polish, Baltic leaders visit Zelenskiy, pledge support

STORY: The presidents of Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia on Wednesday visited Ukraine in the latest show of support and toured the bombed-out ruins of buildings in the town of Borodyanka.

This city bore the brunt of a vicious Russian bombardment and occupation before Ukrainian forces liberated it, and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said the damage to Borodyanka is "significantly more dreadful" than nearby Bucha with respect to suspected killings of civilians.

Poland, Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia all share a border with Russia.

Speaking in English, Lithuanian President Gitanas Nauseda compared the cruelty of the Russian onslaught to that of Nazi Germany:

"It's even difficult to express in words, by seeing what has happened here, what are the damages and how cruel is this regime. I just cannot compare even with Nazis, I think this is worse than Nazis."

These four leaders join a growing number of European politicians to visit the Ukrainian capital since Russian forces were driven back by fierce Ukrainian resistance earlier this month.

The visit comes the day after U.S. President Joe Biden said Moscow's invasion of Ukraine amounted to genocide.

In a report issued Wednesday, a mission set up by Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe said it has found evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity by Russia in Ukraine.

Russian President Vladimir Putin sent his troops into Ukraine on Feb. 24 on what he calls a "special military operation."

Russia has denied that its forces targeted civilians and has said Ukrainian and Western allegations of war crimes are fabricated.

Ukraine and the West say Putin launched an unprovoked war of aggression.

The visiting Polish and Baltic leaders met with Zelenskiy, clapping backs and embracing.

A spokesperson for the Estonian president said the meeting focused on military assistance and aid to Ukrainian civilians.