French president decries 'unbearable' images of murdered civilians near Kyiv

By Cindi Cook and Shweta Desai

PARIS (AA) - France's president on Sunday decried "unbearable" images from Bucha, a town near Ukraine's capital Kyiv, purported to show dead civilians in the streets after Russian forces withdrew from the area.

"The images reaching us from Bucha, a liberated town near Kyiv, are unbearable. In the streets, hundreds of civilians murdered in cowardly fashion," Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter.

Expressing "compassion for the victims" and solidarity with Ukraine, Macron said Russian authorities would have to answer for these "crimes."

In a statement, the Foreign Ministry also strongly condemned alleged killings of civilians, which it said "constitute war crimes."

Paris pledged to work with allies, including Ukrainian authorities and the International Criminal Court, to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure they are "tried and sentenced," under international jurisdiction.

The statement also affirmed to maintain severe economic and international pressure to compel Moscow to put an end to the war in Ukraine.

Images from Bucha, located near the capital Kyiv, purport to show civilian bodies laying in the streets. Residents who spoke to Sky News said the civilians were shot dead by retreating Russian troops without provocation, their hands and feet later discovered to have been tied and bound.

International condemnations have grown since the photos and footage surfaced, drawing the condemnation of German and British leaders.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on the international organizations on Sunday to send their experts to the country as soon as possible to collect evidence of war crimes committed by the Russian troops.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry has denied that its troops killed civilians while withdrawing from towns near Kyiv.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the EU, US, and Britain, among others, implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,417 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,038 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.2 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.