“The most gruesome” for the lives of many residents of the Kiev region, it was last year, as characteristically the Ukrainian president mentioned as, as he said, the Russian troops are accused of committed war crimes before they retire

The Ukrainian army recaptured the small towns of Irpin and Butsa outside the capital Kiev at the end of March last year.

International researchers are now collecting evidence at Irpin, her Shut up and other areas where, according to Ukraine, Russian troops committed large-scale atrocities. Russia denies these allegations.

“For many residents in the Kyiv region, the past year has been the most horrific of their lives. And the liberation of the Kiev region became a symbol of the fact that Ukraine will manage to win this war,” the president wrote in English Volodymyr Zelenski in the Telegram messaging app.

“Events that no one could have imagined in the 21st century became a reality in the satellite cities of Kyiv – Butsa and Irpin. Russian troops advanced on the Ukrainian capital from the north and brought death and destruction.”

Zelensky posted his message under video showing damaged buildings and vehicles in Buka and Irpin.

The video also includes interviews with survivors talking about their experiences during the occupation as well as images of bodies lined up on the ground in black sacks.

In the video, created by the Ukrainian fundraising initiative UNITED24, it is stated that the number of dead civilians in the Kiev areas liberated by Russian forces are 1,137, including 461 killed in Bucha.

The advance of Russian forces, which invaded Ukraine on February 24 last year, was halted outside the capital, with troops subsequently retreating. However, the Kyiv region is often the target of missile and drone attacks, while fighting rages elsewhere in the country.