Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky presented a graphic video to the United Nations (UN) Security Council on Tuesday that appeared to show the horrors of the Russian invasion in Ukraine.
The video, which was aired after his speech to the council, began by showing what appeared to be dead bodies buried in mass graves. As the video continued, dozens of more bodies were shown in several cities, including Motyzhyn, Irpin, Dymerka, Mariupol and Bucha. As the video came to an end, the hashtag "#StopRussianAggression" was shown on the screen.
The video shown by Zelensky comes after officials in Ukraine accused Russia and its military forces of committing "genocide" in Bucha and other cities surrounding the nation's capital of Kyiv. Over the weekend, Ukraine said that it reclaimed control of Kyiv, leading to it said was a retreat of Russian troops to surrounding cities.
Prior to showing the video, Zelensky addressed the UN Security Council and continued to criticize the invasion. Additionally, Zelensky said that while the world has seen the graphic images from Bucha, Russian troops have committed similar "war crimes" in several other cities.
"Now the world can see what the Russian military did in Bucha while keeping the city under their occupation, but the world has yet to see what they have done in other occupied cities and regions of our country," he said.
"They cut off limbs, cut their throats, slashed their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them."
In addition to Zelensky, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko previously accused Russia of committing "genocide" in Bucha.
Russia has continued to deny any wrongdoing in Bucha, with some officials calling it "fake."
In a tweet on Tuesday, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs posted a statement on Twitter from the country's defense ministry that said: "All the photos and videos published by the Kiev regime in Bucha are just another provocation.
"The bodies of the people whose image have been published by the Kiev regime are not stiffened after at least four days, have no typical cadaver stains and the wounds contained unconsumed blood."
A spokesperson for the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs directed Newsweek to a speech from Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in which he again denied the claims made by Ukraine. In the speech, Lavrov accused Ukraine and the West of promoting "hysteria" in Bucha.
Newsweek reached out to the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry for comment but did not receive a response in time for publication.
