Zelenskyy Reacts to Mass Graves and Suspected War Crimes in Ukrainian Cities

RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Ukainian President Volodymyr Zelensky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a rare trip outside the capital city of Kyiv on Monday, venturing to one of the most devastated parts of the country — the suburb of Bucha, where Russians were recently accused of killing some 300 civilians (and, in some cases, torturing civilians) during their occupation.

Russian forces — who have denied committing such atrocities, insisting they were faked — withdrew from Bucha, which sits northwest of Kyiv, over the weekend, reportedly leaving behind a wake of destruction and horror stories from area residents.

One coroner who lives in Bucha told The New York Times he and his team had collected more than 100 bodies in recent weeks. Only three of the bodies, the coroner said, were Ukrainian soldiers. The others were civilians and most had died as a result of being shot or hit with shrapnel.

The Times and other outlets including CNN have further described the horrors of bodies laying in the middle of the street and people shot through the head while riding their bicycles or crushed by a tank while attempting to drive out of the town.

Without any electricity for refrigeration at the morgue, a mass grave became the only solution — and a signal to the world.

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Speaking to Reuters on Sunday, Bucha Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said: "Corpses of executed people still line the Yabluska street in Bucha. Their hands are tied behind their backs with white 'civilian' rags, they were shot in the back of their heads. So you can imagine what kind of lawlessness they perpetrated here."

Russia has denied any involvement in the killing of the hundreds of civilians in Bucha, with the country's Ministry of Defense saying the images of bodies on the streets of the town — taken by seasoned journalists for outlets across the world — had been "staged" and that "not a single" civilian had been injured in Bucha, per the Times and other reports.

Speaking to the press during his trip to Bucha, 44-year-old Zelenskyy — wearing a bullet-proof vest — said in footage obtained by Sky News: "These are war crimes and this will be recognized by the world as genocide."

"We know that thousands of people have been killed and tortured," he said, his expression darkening. "Their limbs were cut off. Raped women, killed children. I think that this is ... actually genocide."

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Zelenskyy's trip to Bucha followed a weekly, videotaped address in which he spoke about the atrocities on Sunday.

"The world has already seen many war crimes. At different times. On different continents. But it is time to do everything possible to make the war crimes of the Russian military the last manifestation of such evil on earth," he said, CNN reports.

Zelenskyy continued then: "I want all the leaders of the Russian Federation to see how their orders are being fulfilled. Such orders. Such a fulfillment. And joint responsibility. For these murders, for these tortures, for these arms torn off by explosions that lie on the streets. For shots in the back of the head of tied people. This is how the Russian state will now be perceived. This is your image."

The latest accounts of civilian deaths spurred further condemnation of Russia. President Joe Biden said there should be a "war crime trial" and the U.S. said it wanted Russia suspended from the United Nations' Human Rights Council.

SERGEY BOBOK/AFP via Getty Russian invasion of Ukraine

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Russia's attack on Ukraine continues after their forces launched a large-scale invasion on Feb. 24 — the first major land conflict in Europe in decades.

Details of the fighting change by the day, but hundreds of civilians have already been reported dead or wounded, including children.

The invasion, ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin, has drawn condemnation around the world and increasingly severe economic sanctions against Russia.

With NATO forces massing in the region around Ukraine, various countries have also pledged aid or military support to the resistance. Zelenskyy has called for peace talks — so far unsuccessful — while urging his country to fight back.

Putin insists Ukraine has historic ties to Russia and he is acting in the best security interests of his country. Zelenskyy vowed not to bend.

"Nobody is going to break us, we're strong, we're Ukrainians," he told the European Union in a speech in the early days of the fighting, adding, "Life will win over death. And light will win over darkness."

The Russian attack on Ukraine is an evolving story, with information changing quickly. Follow PEOPLE's complete coverage of the war here, including stories from citizens on the ground and ways to help.