The discovery of civilians’ bodies on the streets of Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, has sparked international condemnation, calls for an investigation into possible Russian war crimes and vows that new sanctions are coming.

Scenes of horror and devastation emerged as Russian troops withdrewfrom towns they had seized in the opening days of the invasion of Ukraine. Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk told The Washington Post that about 270 residents had been buried in two graves. He estimated that 40 bodies were on the streets.

American and European leaders decried the grim images, with U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken calling them “a punch to the gut” and the United States considering new sanctions. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the Bucha scenes reflected “brutality against civilians we haven’t seen in Europe for decades.”

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the Russian attack on his nation amounted to a genocide.

Here’s what to know

  • Explosions rocked Odessa early Sunday as Russia said its missiles struck an oil refinery and fuel storage facilities — the first strike on the strategic Black Sea city’s downtown as the war in Ukraine grinds into its 39th day.
  • Russia’s chief negotiator on Sunday shut down the idea of a possible meeting between President Vladimir Putin and Zelensky, a day after his Ukrainian counterpart said such a sit-down between the leaders was possible.
  • The International Committee of the Red Cross told The Post on Sunday that its team would spend another night en route to Mariupol and had “yet to reach the city.” The humanitarian convoy has been trying to reach the besieged southeastern city for several days….

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Zelensky Faces Political Test

Washington Post: “The 44-year-old Ukrainian comedian has evolved from a political neophyte, widely doubted among Western leaders and Ukrainian voters in the run-up to the war, into a crisis commander who has cemented his place in the history of Ukrainian nationhood and inspired a will to resist at home and abroad with personal bravery.”

“Now, as the war grinds on in its sixth week and peace talks between Ukrainian and Russian negotiators continue, Zelensky faces a new set of challenges. He must keep up morale and the will to fight amid battlefield casualties, economic devastation and vast civilian suffering. He must retain the confidence of Western nations that Ukraine can prevail to ensure weapons keep flowing.”

Note…

There are images of the sole Ukrainian Antonov An-225  bombed in pieces in a hanger….

The Ukraine also has FIVE  An-124’s which are in the same class of the An-25, just smaller , but not by much…..These Aircraft ARE transporting war weapons from Europe to the Ukraine….