It is not possible to know what pain this woman went through before she died. Engraved on her body, highlighted by her blood, a swastika has been carved into her stomach. The image, shared by a Ukrainian MP, apparently shows a dead Ukrainian after her rape and murder. Its story is one of many other horrific narratives about what happened in parts of Ukraine and comes to light only as Russia partially withdraws. Metro.co.uk could not verify the image, which was released by MP Lesya Vasilenko, which comes in a scene of humiliation by Russian soldiers in the Kiev region. There have been widespread allegations of war crimes committed by Vladimir Putin’s forces following their retreat from Bucha and Irpin. The images show streets full of civilian corpses, some of them with their hands tied behind their backs, suggesting extensive executions. It is not clear where the latest image came from, but Metro.co.uk contacted MP Lesia Vasylenko for comment. The graduate of University College London, an outspoken critic of Russia who has evacuated her children from Kyiv, wrote on Twitter: “Tortured body of a raped and murdered woman. A partially buried body in a mass grave on the outskirts of Kiev (Image: AFP) ‘I am speechless. “My mind is paralyzed by anger, fear and hatred.” Ms Vasylenko, also co-chair of the Ukrainian-British parliamentary friendship group, described Russia as a “nation of immoral criminals” in a later tweet. He added: “Russian soldiers are looting, raping and killing. 10 (year old) girls with vaginal and rectal ruptures. “Women with swastika-shaped burns. Russia. The Russian men did that. And their Russian mothers grew up. A nation of immoral criminals. “ There have been countless allegations of rape of Ukrainian women by Russian invaders, but revelations from Bucha, a passenger town near the pre-war capital where young families lived, have caused outrage around the world. A body with hands tied with white cloth, in civilian clothes (Image: Reuters) The bodies of the children were among the civilians who were mutilated, killed and dumped in mass graves, reports say. The video shows the drivers being diverted to avoid the bodies of people dressed in ordinary clothes. The mayor of the city – which with about 37,000 inhabitants before the war was about two-thirds of the Woking population – said yesterday that about 300 civilians have so far been buried in mass graves. There are also fears that Russian soldiers have trapped corpses to kill or injure those trying to bury them. Boris Johnson criticized the “hateful attacks” and promised not to calm down “until justice is done”. The lifeless bodies of men, some with their hands tied behind their backs, lie on the ground in Bucha (Image: AP) Tanya Nedashkivska reacts as she mourns her husband Vasyl Ivanovych, next to his grave in the garden of their apartment building in Bucha (Image: Reuters) Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of genocide and war crimes. A wife returned to Bucha to find her husband’s mutilated body in their garden. But there are concerns that even worse scenes may have occurred on a larger scale in besieged Mariupol. Russia’s Defense Ministry, meanwhile, has denied that Russian forces killed civilians in Bukha, saying videos and photos of the bodies were “another provocation” by the Ukrainian government. A civil defense force looks at four dead civilians (Image: Shutterstock) However, Western nations seem to have long since given up believing in Russia’s claims of war – and have responded angrily to developments in Bukhara. Germany has said war criminals will have to pay amid growing calls for Putin to be sent to the International Criminal Court and tried as a war criminal. US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken described the images as a “punch in the gut” as calls intensified for further tightening of sanctions against Russia. However, politicians again stopped calling for military intervention. Contact our news team by emailing us at [email protected] For more stories like this, check out our news page. MORE: Puppy rescued from Ukraine stolen and injured two days after arriving in UK
