Reuters

Ukraine claims control over Kyiv region as Russia looks east

James MackenzieApril 1, 2022, 5:53 PM·5 min readIn this article:

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• Volodymyr ZelenskiySixth and current President of Ukraine

By James Mackenzie

ZAPORIZHZHIA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Ukraine said on Saturday its forces had seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion.

As Russian troops regrouped for battles in east Ukraine, towns surrounding Kyiv bore scars of five weeks of fighting. Dead civilians laid scattered over streets, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy accused Russian forces of leaving behind mines.

Ukraine's troops have retaken more than 30 towns and villages around Kyiv since Russia pulled back from the area this week, Ukrainian officials said.

"The whole Kyiv region is liberated from the invader," Ukraine's Deputy Defence Minister, Hanna Malyar, wrote on Facebook. There was no Russian comment on the claim, which Reuters could not immediately verify.

In the recaptured town of Bucha, reached by Reuters, the sprawled remains of more than a dozen bodies lined one road. A mass grave in the grounds of a church was still open, with hands and feet poking through the red clay heaped on top.

Bucha's mayor, Anatoliy Fedoruk, said more than 300 residents had been killed. Many tearfully recalled brushes with death.

"We don't want them to come back," said Mariya Zhelezova, 74, who spoke of coming under fire by Russian soldiers. "I had a dream today - that they left, and didn't come back."

British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said she was appalled by atrocities in Bucha and voiced support for the International Criminal Court's inquiry into potential war crimes in Ukraine.

Russia denies targeting civilians and rejects war crimes allegations.

PUTIN-ZELENSKIY TALKS?

Since sending troops on Feb. 24 in what it calls a "special operation" to demilitarise its neighbour, Russia has failed to capture a single major city and has instead laid siege to urban areas, uprooting a quarter of Ukraine's population.

Ukraine's armed forces reported diminished Russian air and missile strikes on Saturday but said Russian troops retreating from near Kyiv were deploying mines.

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