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| Photo Credit: AP. |
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has said that the human cost of the war in Severodonetsk is very high and terrifying just as the war for the control of the city continues to intensify.
Speaking about the strategically important city in the east of the country, Mr Zelesky said of the situation:
"The human cost of this battle is very high for us. It
is simply terrifying," Zelensky says on Telegram in his daily address to
the Ukrainian people, BBC reports.
Russian forces are believed to be close to capturing the
city of Severodonetsk although intense battle continues to rage. Earlier the
regional governor said all three bridges leading to the city have been
destroyed by the invading Russian forces.
The BBC reported that a military representative of the self-proclaimed
Donetsk People’s Republic called on the remaining Ukrainian troops in the city
to “surrender or die”.
Lysychansk, a twin city which lies across the river is still
in Ukrainian hands but the governor says it’s under heavy Russian fire, according
to the BBC.
The BBC cited a report by AFP that the regional police
claimed that seven bodies, several with their hands and legs tied have been
found in a mass grave near the town of Bucha on the outskirts of Kyiv.
"Seven civilians were tortured by the Russians then
executed in a cowardly manner with a bullet to the head," Kyiv regional
police chief Andriy Nebytov has written on Facebook, according to the BBC.
"This grave was discovered today in an area where
Russian troops were stationed near the village of Myrotske", he writes,
adding police are "working to identify the deceased".
No fewer than 500 decomposing bodies were found in mass
graves in Bucha following the withdrawal of Russian forces from the city in
late March. Russia has denied it summarily executed civilians in areas it controlled
and blamed Ukraine for staging the killings in order to blame it on the Russians.
It is believed that more than 15,000 Russia forces have so
far died in the more than 3 month war, figures for which the Kremlin continues
to dispute.