Zelenskiy accuses Russia of war crimes in Kherson

STORY: As residents in Kherson gave Ukrainian troops an enthusiastic welcome on Sunday, thanking them for liberating the region from Russian occupation, their president levied an angry accusation at Moscow’s troops.

In a video address, Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russian soldiers of committing hundreds of war crimes in Kherson.

"Investigators have already documented more than 400 Russian war crimes, bodies of both civilians and military are being found. In the Kherson region, the Russian army left the same savagery behind as in other regions of our country where it managed to invade. We will find and bring to justice every murderer."

Reuters was unable immediately to verify his allegations and Russia denies its troops intentionally target civilians.

Volunteers on Sunday handed out food and humanitarian aid to people in Kherson, after Russian forces made a surprise withdrawal from parts of it last week.

They too were met by grateful residents who greeted them with a “glory to Ukraine” slogan.

The situation remains challenging there, with authorities saying Russian troops damaged and mined critical infrastructure as they fled.

The region’s governor said authorities would maintain a curfew from 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. and ban people from leaving or entering the city as a security measure in the meantime.

Still, many residents continued celebrating through the weekend, like this man.

“We have no electricity, no water, no Internet, no communications, no heating,” he said.

“But there are no Russians either. And that’s why we are happy.”

Meanwhile, fighting continued in other parts of Ukraine, with Zelenskiy saying on Sunday that Russia has kept up its air strikes across five regions of Ukraine.

But the president added that Ukrainian troops were holding the line of defense, with the “greatest” level of resilience and courage.