UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who visited on Thursday towns near kyiv where Ukrainians accuse Russians of killing civilians, described the war as “absurd in the 21st century” at called on Moscow to cooperate with the investigation about these alleged atrocities.

“When we see this horrible place, I understand how important it is to have a full investigation and establish responsibilities. I urge Russia to agree to cooperate with the ICC (International Criminal Court),” he said. Guterres of Bucha.

On April 2 in Bucha, AFP journalists revealed the horrible: a street full of corpses. The UN has documented “killings, including some by making a summary“, of 50 civilians during a mission to the city.

In Borodianka, another town near kyiv, in front of dilapidated buildings, Guterres called the war “absurd in the 21st century.”

“I think of my family before one of these houses is now destroyed and darkened. I see my grandchildren running in fear,” he said. “No war is acceptable in the 21st century,” he added.

Sa his first visit to Ukraine from the beginning of the invasion Russian Federation on February 24, Guterres is scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky in kyiv.

Meetings with Putin and Zelensky

The visit of the UN leader is taking place two days after his trip to Moscowwhere he met with President Vladimir Putin and asked Russia to work with the UN to allow the evacuation of civilians from the bombed areas.

These regions, the south and east, where Russia’s offensive is now concentrated, suffered on Thursday strong attacks.

“The enemy has intensified its offensive. The occupiers are conducting attacks in almost all directions, with particularly intense activity in the Kharkov and Donbas regions,” the Ukrainian General Staff assured.

On its side, the Russian Defense Ministry said it was destroyed the night with “high-precision missiles” two weapons and ammunition in the Kharkov region, and conducted airstrikes at 67 Ukrainian military sites.

He accused Ukrainian forces of hitting residential neighborhoods in central Kherson (south), the first major city taken by Russian forces, on Wednesday night using ballistic missiles and rockets.

Currency exchange

In this city, it was announced by the Russian administration that controls it intends to introduce the ruble to replace the Ukrainian currencythe hryvnia, from May 1.

In bombed -out cities, Ukrainian firefighters are rushing from one fire to another, such as in Kharkiv, where more than 2,000 buildings were damaged or destroyed by fire, according to Yevgen Vasylenko, a regional spokesman. for Ukrainian emergency services.

“They don’t have time to rest. It’s exhausting,” Roman Kashanov, head of Kharkov fire department 11, told AFP.

Also in the south, in the strategic port of Mariupol, which was besieged and destroyed, hundreds of soldiers and civilians, including dozens of children, were trapped, according to Ukrainian authorities, in the Azovstal steelworks, the last place among the hands of security forces Ukraine in this city.

The UN coordinator in Ukraine announced on Thursday that he was traveling to Zaporizhia to prepare a attempted evacuation of Mariupol, where the mayor’s office estimates the balance of fighting since the start of the invasion has been at least 20,000 dead.

Weapons from the West

Meanwhile, Western countries are continuing their efforts to arm the Ukrainians against Russia.

Britain on Wednesday urged Ukraine’s allies to show “courage” and increase military aid, saying the war in Ukraine was “our war” and kyiv’s victory was a “strategic necessity for all of us.”

“Heavy weapons, tanks, planes … search our stockpiles, increase production, we have to do all that,” British diplomat Liz Truss said in London.

New threats from the Kremlin

However, arms shipments to Ukraine “threaten Europe’s security,” the Kremlin said on Thursday. Putin warned on Wednesday against any foreign intervention in the conflict in Ukraine, promising a “quick and fierce” response.

An adviser to the Ukrainian presidency, Mikhailo Podoliak, suggested that kyiv could attack military targets on Russian soil.

“Russia has attacked Ukraine and killed civilians. Ukraine will defend itself in all ways, including attacks on warehouses and bases by Russian assassins. The world recognizes that right,” Mikhailo wrote Podoliak on Twitter.

By Dmytro Gorshkov and Emmanuel Peuchot, AFP agency

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