President Vladimir Putin’s ambition to take control of Ukraine and make it part of Russia looks doomed after a string of atrocities, a former British ambassador to Moscow has said.
The trail of death, torture and destruction which Russian soldiers left behind when retreating from towns and cities around Kyiv shocked the world and drew international condemnation.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Mr Putin of genocide after a mass grave containing at least 57 bodies was found in Bucha, a city 16 miles north-west of the capital.
The remains of five men showing signs of torture were also discovered in the basement of a children’s health centre, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said. “Torture chamber was discovered in a children's sanatorium in Bucha by prosecutors and Kyiv Regional police officers,” prosecutor Iryna Venediktova said on Twitter.
Human Rights Watch claims it has seen evidence of executed civilians in Bucha and other cities, while a Ukrainian MP said dead children as young as 10 had shown signs of being raped.
Sir Andrew Wood, a former British ambassador to Russia, said the grim developments rule out any chance of Mr Putin winning the support of the Ukrainian people, even if he manages to take control of the entire country.
Speaking to Sky News on Tuesday, after the horrors of Bucha sent shock waves around the world, he said the actions of the Russian soldiers in Ukraine were “unforgivable”.
“Even if Putin won and dominated the entire country or the eastern part of it or whatever it is, he would not now be able to secure the support of Ukrainian people whom he has described as the same people as the Russian people,” Sir Andrew said.
“This is absolutely unforgivable. People do not forget such things.”
Mr Wood said Putin's forces were in an impossible position in the conflict, and said he believes far more Russians sympathise with Ukraine than the numbers cited in polls.
He said it had been a shock to the Russian leadership to realise his country is “so inept militarily” and Moscow had been equally surprised by the tough fight put up by the Ukrainians.
Mr Zelenskyy has accused Mr Putin of committing war crimes in Ukraine.
Britain’s Foreign Secretary Liz Truss on Monday hit out at the Russians’ “butchery” and cited evidence of rape and indiscriminate killing of civilians in Bucha.
Mr Wood said the Russians, being “vigorous deniers”, would no doubt refuse to take blame for any wrongdoing when they speak at an emergency session of the UN Security Council on Tuesday.
In its latest intelligence update, Britain's Ministry of Defence said some units of Russian troops are retreating from parts of northern Ukraine and towns are back under the control of the Ukrainian military.
The MoD said the strong resistance was "denying Russia the ability to secure its objectives".
"Low-level fighting is likely to continue in some parts of the newly recaptured regions but diminish significantly over this week as the remainder of Russian forces withdraw.
"Many Russian units withdrawing from northern Ukraine are likely to require significant re-equipping and refurbishment before being available to redeploy for operations in eastern Ukraine."
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