--- title: "Ukraine Situation Report: Zelensky Describes “War Crimes” And “Genocide” In Visit To Kyiv Suburbs" description: "President Zelensky made a very symbolic trip to liberated areas as evidence of Russian atrocities continues to mount." date: "2022-04-04" modified: "2022-04-05" authors: - name: "Joseph Trevithick" job_title: "Deputy Editor" link: "https://www.twz.com/authors/joseph-trevithick" url: "https://www.twz.com/45055/ukraine-situation-report-zelensky-describes-war-crimes-and-genocide-in-visit-to-kyiv-suburbs" categories: - "Around The Globe" - "Europe" - "NATO" - "News & Features" - "Russia" - "Ukraine" tags: - "air defenses" - "Belarus" - "Black Sea" - "civilian casualties" - "Donbas" - "invasion" - "Kyiv" - "military aid" - "NATO" - "Negotiations" - "russia" - "Talks" - "Ukraine" - "war crimes" --- # Ukraine Situation Report: Zelensky Describes “War Crimes” And “Genocide” In Visit To Kyiv Suburbs ![]() *www.twz.com* Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky visited various suburbs of Kyiv today, including the towns of Bucha, Irpin, and Stoyanka. He said that what has happened in these places "are war crimes and will be recognized by the world as genocide." Evidence [of horrific Russian atrocities](), including mass killings, continues to build as Ukraine's forces have increasingly secured much of the greater Kyiv region. Zelensky's trip to these areas is highly symbolic for a number of reasons, not least of which is that Russian forces have been driven back so thoroughly that it is considered safe enough for him to travel there personally. Russian units [have been withdrawing from locations]() around Kyiv, as well as elsewhere in northeastern Ukraine, for more than a week now in the face of Ukrainian counterattacks, continuing logistics problems, and other issues. Zelensky's visits reinforce the 'lead from the front' [image he has cultivated]() since Russia's invasion kicked off in February, which has helped boost morale domestically and [galvanize support internationally](). Of course, Kyiv and its suburbs do continue to be at risk of Russian [air and missile strikes](). There is still much work left to be done to ensure these areas are clear of [mines and booby traps](), as well. Fighting is very much continuing elsewhere in the country, especially in the southeast, where Russia's military now appears to be redoubling its efforts [to seize and hold territory](). Before getting into the latest news below, *The War Zone* readers can get themselves fully up to speed first on the current situation in Ukraine through our previous rolling coverage [here](). ***WARNING: Some of the updates below contain graphic material.*** ## The Latest ***UPDATED—*** *The War Zone*'s ongoing rolling coverage of the conflict in Ukraine can be found [here](). ***POSTED: 2:25*** ***PM EST—*** "Every day, when our fighters enter and retake territory, you see what's been happening," Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told members of the press during his visit to Bucha today. Video footage and pictures [showed numerous civilian bodies]() in the streets of Bucha after its liberation. Mass graves have now been found there, as well. “With my own eyes I saw Bucha, Irpin, Stoyanka after the occupation," Zelensky subsequently wrote in a post on the Telegram social media network. "We will do our best to bring them back to life as soon as possible." https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510970861007814663 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510960306813644802 Disturbing imagery and associated reporting from Bucha and other towns around Kyiv [have continued to emerge](), driven in part by the increasing access available to members of the media and other international organizations. Human Right Watch, among others, says it has [already collected credible evidence]() of Russian forces committing various war crimes during their occupation of various areas in northeastern Ukraine. Satellite imagery has provided additional evidence of mass graves. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510965509570899976 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510928453096325122 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510839517686771712 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510637246487175172 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510734387729649676 U.S. President Joe Biden has joined growing calls for investigations into the alleged war crimes and has called Russian President Vladimir Putin a war criminal. A senior U.S. defense official said today that American authorities could not yet independently confirm the reported atrocities in Bucha, but that they could not refute them, either, and that "the imagery is pretty stark." The U.S. government is now seeking, together with allies and partners, the Russian government's suspension from the U.N. Human Rights Councils. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510989491900665863 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510996062009450498 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510991395464568840 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1511012385263435777 The Russian government, for its part, continues to deny the accusations. They have, without presenting any hard evidence of their own, claimed that Ukrainian authorities have staged or otherwise faked at least some of the apparent atrocities. However, there is already substantial counter-evidence to debunk at least one of the Russian government's key talking points at present, which is that a dead body can be seen moving in one video clip taken in Bucha. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510921950612312067 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510964761319690243 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510586153010929669 In addition, Russian state media outlet RIA Novosti published an op-ed regarding the war in Ukraine today, which would have to have [been vetted by official censors](), that contained especially inflammatory rhetoric. Experts and observers have indicated that it is almost an explicit call for genocide and it does, in no uncertain terms, call for the end of the very idea of an independent Ukrainian state. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510898225640792068 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510898571972952064 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510898889766973441 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510911835612004354 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510912781553446914 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510914498193940485 More details about what Ukrainian civilians were subjected to under Russian occupation are likely to emerge in the near-term as Ukraine's military further secures areas around Kyiv and elsewhere in the northeastern portion of the country. A senior U.S. defense official said today that approximately two-thirds of the forces that the Russian military had amassed around the Ukrainian capital have now been repositioned. American and British authorities have said there continue to be indications that Russia's forces are shifting the focus of their operations further east, but that Kyiv still remains at risk, including from stand-off strikes. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510989491900665863 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510937362972487683 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510992867195564041 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510944371780296706 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510844313017765888 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510949795623538688 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510949800430215175 The strategic southern port city of Mariupol, which lies on Ukraine's Sea of Azov coastline, continues to be a major focus of Russia's "special military operation." Despite a [brutal weeks-long siege]() and Russian advances into the city center, Ukrainian forces there continue to hold out. Seizing Maripol would help Russian forces truly [secure a critical land bridge]() to the occupied Crimean Peninsula. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510755526694653953 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510991339617460229 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510938007750299661 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510721782218690566 Elsewhere, the U.S. military, among others, has observed Russian forces establishing more fixed defensive lines. Russia's military continues to carry out air and missile strikes against various cities across the country, as well. Those strikes have targeted military and civilian infrastructure. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510989819870121985 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510990802612330498 Just today, the Russian military said it targeted the airport in Nikolaev, a city in southern Ukraine just north of the Black Sea, destroying unspecified Ukrainian helicopters and unnamed aircraft in the process. There are reports that those strikes, which appear to have been carried out at least in part [using Kh-59M]() TV-guided air-to-surface missiles based on a video clip reportedly taken from a closed-circuit security camera in the area, [damaged a grain elevator](), as well. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510948602604326916 New pictures have emerged reportedly showing Russian forces employing [TOS-1A thermobaric rocket launch systems]() as part of an ongoing offensive against the city of Izyum in eastern Ukraine. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1511032444467793925 Yet another example [of improvised wood armor]() on a Russian logistical vehicle has emerged as seen in the Tweet below. Russian trucks with other kinds of non-standard armor are increasingly emerging, as well. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1511022141608710150 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510964706974089220 The Tweet below reportedly shows a picture of a damaged Russian 30N6-series truck-mounted radar associated [with the S-300]() surface-to-air missile system that Ukrainian forces came across during operations somewhere in the country. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510870580601532416 There are so-far unconfirmed reports that a [proposed transfer of T-72 tanks]() from one or more NATO member states to Ukraine may not ultimately proceed. This is reportedly due to concerns about escalating tensions between Russia and the West and arguments that heavy armor is not necessarily what Ukrainian forces need right now. U.S. authorities [made a similar case]() when [they effectively scuttled]() the potential transfer of Polish MiG-29 Fulcrum fighter jets to the Ukrainian Air Force. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510995326982840323 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1511006974682488835 German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has issued a significant mea culpa over his support for backing rapprochement with Russia, especially over the Nord Stream 2 pipeline project, which is now indefinitely on hold. German foreign policy has shifted significantly since Russia's invasion of Ukraine began in February. Authorities in the country have also now announced the expulsion of Russian intelligence personnel who have been operating under diplomatic cover, following similar actions across Europe in recent weeks. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1511023823348510721 https://twitter.com/\_/status/1511017639174459399 Spanish authorities have impounded a superyacht belonging to a Russian oligarch, Viktor Vekselberg, in what appears to be the first enforcement action of its type in Europe in response to a direct request from American officials. The U.S. government has been levying increasing sanctions on members of Russia's societal elite over the war in Ukraine. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510977140648521728 The Russian government has condemned comments over the weekend from Poland's Deputy Prime Minister Jaroslaw Kaczynski, who is also head of the ruling Law and Justice Party, that he would be [open to the possibility]() of his country hosting American nuclear weapons. There is no indication that the U.S. government has actively approached the Polish government about stockpiling nuclear weapons in the country. https://twitter.com/\_/status/1510933947571744770 We will continue to update this post with new information until we state otherwise. *C**ontact the author: joe@thedrive.com* ## Author Joseph is *TWZ’s* Deputy Editor, helping to oversee the site’s highly experienced and dedicated team, while also writing informative and impactful defense and national security content. He lives right in the thick of it in the Washington, D.C. area. ### Author social links [Twitter]() [Bluesky]()