Ukraine President Zelensky details alleged Russian atrocities in hard-hitting UN speech

By Jennifer Deaton, CNN

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian troops of indiscriminately killing civilians "for their pleasure" in an emotionally-charged address to the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday, a day after he visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where shocking images of bodies in the streets emerged over the weekend.

Zelensky described the aftermath of Russia's retreat from Bucha in horrifying detail, describing entire families killed, people with their throats slashed, women raped and killed in front of their children. He said Russia's actions were no different from those of a terror group, except that Russia is a permanent member of the UN Security Council.

In Bucha, bodies strewn across the streets and in basements were found by human rights groups and documented by independent journalists. Satellite images suggest some bodies had been there since at least March 18.

In a damning speech, Zelensky said there was "not a single crime" that the Russians "would not commit," alleging that Russian troops had "searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country."

"They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone ... They killed entire families, adults and children and they tried to burn the bodies," Zelensky said.

"I am addressing you on behalf of the people who honor the memory of the deceased every single day and in the memory of the civilians who died, who were shot and killed in the back of their head after being tortured," he told the Security Council.

"Some of them were shot on the streets. Others were thrown into wells, so they died there suffering. They were killed in their apartments, houses, blown up by grenades. Civilians were crushed by tanks while sitting in their cars in the middle of the road, just for their pleasure," the 44-year-old Ukrainian leader continued.

"They cut off limbs, slashed their throats. Women were raped and killed in front of their children. Their tongues were pulled out only because the aggressor did not hear what they wanted to hear from them. This is not different from other terrorists such as ISIS. And here it is done by a member of the United Nations Security Council."

Russia has repeatedly denied the alleged atrocities, despite increasing evidence suggesting otherwise. Earlier Tuesday, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov called the claims not only "groundless, but ... a well-staged tragic show" and "a forgery in order to try to denigrate the Russian army."

This is a developing story -- more to come.

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