Ukrainian President warns worse atrocities may emerge, after hundreds of civilian bodies were found

“We need serious players who are ready to go all the way. We need a circle of countries who would within 24 hours provide us with any weapons,” said Zelensky.

“These countries would come together. And within 24 hours, two or three days will impose everything, block everything. And simply put this country in a containment,” he said.

“If we are offered NATO membership tomorrow without playing with our lives, then we will join,” he added.

“A wartime massacre of civilians is a clear violation of international law,” the ministry said in a press release Tuesday.

“Despite the promises of their leadership, the (Russian) occupying forces do not allow anyone to go to Mariupol,” Vereshchuk said in a statement on Telegram.

“The occupiers blocked representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross in Manhush. They were released last night after negotiations and sent to Zaporizhzhia,” she added.

“Neither rescuers nor ambulance doctors can reach some districts of Popasna and Rubizhne in Luhansk region,” he said. “The shelling is very heavy, street fighting continues. In Rubizhne, the dead are buried in the yards.”

“The Government of Japan will continue to provide support for and stand by the people of Ukraine who are facing hardship, in collaboration with the international community, including the G7 members,” according to the statement.

• Zelensky visits Bucha: Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said he wants to “show the world” what happened in Bucha, vowing that the country will “not pause” until it finds those accountable. Speaking on possible future peace talks with Russian officials, including President Vladimir Putin, Zelensky added, “It’s very difficult to negotiate when you see what they have done here.” 
• CNN team witnesses removal of bodies: Ukrainian officials showed international media the removal of five bodies from a basement in Bucha. A CNN team visited the basement before the removal and saw the bodies which were in an advanced stage of decomposition. Five men had been tortured and executed by Russian soldiers, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister, Anton Gerashchenko, told CNN on the ground. CNN cannot independently verify Gerashchenko’s claims.
• Authorities are combing through Bucha: Civilian and military investigators are working to document alleged crimes committed by Russian troops in liberated towns around Kyiv, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said. Forensic inspectors, explosives technicians, K-9 teams and doctors are involved in site inspections, and there are more than 50 National Police officers and prosecutors involved in Bucha alone, she said. Efforts are underway to search for witnesses and victims and to collect photo and video evidence, officials said.
• More bodies may be found: A volunteer told CNN during the removal of those in the basement that they have been recovering bodies in large numbers, saying, “It’s in the hundreds, not dozens.” The volunteer and his unit showed CNN the body bags of at least 30 people who had been recovered on Sunday, plus an additional nine on Monday, including the five found in the basement.  In Bucha, Zelensky said there were more than 300 people killed, but that the total number of casualties will likely increase as the whole city is checked. To date, 410 bodies of slain civilians have been removed from Kyiv region and 140 of them have already been examined by prosecutors and other specialists, according to Venediktova, who called the scenes “crucial evidence of brutal war crimes of the Russian Federation.”
• Satellite images undermine Russian denials: The Russian Defense Ministry claimed a video showing bodies of civilians in a Bucha street was “fake” and “staged,” yet new satellite imagery from Maxar Technologies shows the bodies had been present since at least March 18, when Russia was in control of the town. Russia held Bucha until March 31. CNN has reached out to the Russian Defense Ministry for comment.
• “War crime,” Biden says: US President Joe Biden called the atrocities committed by Russia in Bucha a “war crime” but declined to label it a genocide, adding that he is looking into more sanctions on Russia and would announce them shortly.  White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday that “now is not the time for complacency,” stressing the importance of ongoing US support for Ukraine. 
• Ukrainian deputy PM warns of future Russian atrocities: If Putin and Russian forces are not stopped, more atrocities such as those in Bucha may be in store for Ukrainians, Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk told CNN’s Erin Burnett on Monday. “People are dying, they are dying of hunger, thirst, severe wounds, airstrikes, thousands of them are being killed. It is a genocide, against the Ukrainian civilians. And Putin, he realizes that he cannot stop the Ukrainian army, and that’s why he has another tactic. He is torturing and raping Ukrainian civilians, women, and this is what’s his so-called second army is doing. They are fighting against the civilians, and we seem to just be watching powerless against them.”
• Bucha “could be replicated on a very large scale,” HRW chief warns: Kenneth Roth, the head of Human Rights Watch, told CNN on Monday that the images emerging from Bucha are “sickening” and warned that it “could be replicated on a very large scale.” In an interview with CNN’s Becky Anderson, Roth said “the message we’re trying to send to the Kremlin is that, here’s the evidence of these atrocities taking place. If you want to avoid criminal responsibility, rein in your troops.”

• Satellite images refute Russia’s claims: New satellite images from Maxar show that the bodies of dead civilians in Bucha had been laying in the street for weeks, including when the town was under Russian control. Russia claimed the videos and images from Bucha were “fake” but the new pictures show objects on Yablunska street match the exact locations where bodies are seen in the street in the video.
• Zelensky warns of worse atrocities: The number of civilian casualties may be much higher in Borodyanka and other liberated cities, Zelensky said on Monday. In Bucha, Zelensky said there were more than 300 people killed, but that the total number of casualties will likely increase as the whole city is checked.  
• US to impose new sanctions: The US will announce new sanctions against Russia this week, US national security adviser Jake Sullivan said. Responding to recent violent images from Bucha, Biden said he was “seeking more sanctions” against Russia and would be announcing them shortly. He said the killings were a “war crime” and called for a trial to take place against Putin.
• Zelensky to address UN: The Ukrainian President will address the United Nations Security Council Tuesday morning, a spokesperson confirmed to CNN. The address will take place during the council’s 10 a.m. ET briefing on Ukraine.
• Bucha: Ukrainian officials showed international media the removal of five bodies from a basement in Bucha. A CNN team visited the basement and saw the bodies before removal. Five men had been tortured and executed by Russian soldiers, according to Anton Gerashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior minister. CNN cannot independently verify Gerashchenko’s claims.
• Mariupol convoy held up: Ukraine’s Deputy Prime Minister said a convoy of seven buses headed for the besieged city of Mariupol had been stopped in the Russian-held city of Manhush. Earlier in the day, the mayor of Mariupol said that more than 100,000 people required evacuation from the city, saying it was “on the brink of a humanitarian catastrophe.”
• CNN team under fire: A CNN team at a crossroads just south of Mykolaiv, near the town of Oleksandrivka, was just meters away from incoming artillery rounds on Monday, leaving their vehicle damaged. None of the team was injured. Russia’s bombardment of Mykolaiv in southern Ukraine near the Black Sea continued Monday as it has for weeks, with strikes through the morning and afternoon.