Global outcry against Russia escalates as horrifying stories emerge of Ukraine atrocities

Ukraine's deputy prime minister Iryna Vereshchuk told CNN on Monday that 11 Ukrainian mayors remain in captivity by Russian forces and that Putin's atrocities are only beginning unless he is stopped.

“This is absolutely true," Vereshchuk told CNN anchor Erin Burnett regarding the captive mayors. "We know that all of the city mayors, they are in captivity, they're being held hostage by Russians, they are unfortunately are not giving them back to us.”

“Unfortunately, so far, we have not been able to get in touch, or to free any other city mayors, and we don't even know, we think that some of them were killed," she continued.

“If we do not stop Putin today, together, this is only the beginning of those atrocities that we will reveal later on. Because as we are talking now with you, there are ... more than 100,000 civilians, women, children, elderly, who are dying in the city of Mariupol at the moment,” Vereshchuk further said.

“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.”

The bodies of the mayor of a Ukrainian village outside Kyiv and her husband and adult son were reportedly found in a shallow grave Monday after the three were abducted by Russian occupying forces.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is slated to address the United Nations (UN) Security Council meeting Tuesday about the latest alleged atrocities by Russian forces against his nation.

The official Twitter account of the United Kingdom's delegation to the UN announced the upcoming speech, tweeting, "The UK Presidency of the Council will ensure the truth is heard about Russia’s war crimes. We will expose Putin’s war for what it really is."

The announcement comes after Zelenskyy visited Bucha, where Russian forces allegedly left the dead bodies of civilians in the streets, according to satellite imagery.

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 410 civilians were found in Kyiv-area towns and cities that were recently retaken from Russian forces. In Bucha, more than 100 civilians were found buried in mass graves.

France is expelling "many" Russian diplomats following a massacre in the Ukrainian town of Bucha.

"France has decided this evening to expel many Russian personnel posted in France under diplomatic status, whose activities are counter to our security interests," read a Monday statement from the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs.

"This action is part of a European movement. Our first responsibility is always to ensure the security of French and European citizens," the statement continued.

Approximately 35 diplomats will be expelled from the country following the announcement, according to Agence France-Presse.

Earlier on Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron called for additional sanctions on Russia, according to a report. White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan later announced that the U.S. will be working with its allies to impose further sanctions.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan told reporters Monday that the United States is planning to announce further sanctions against Russia in the wake of actions President Biden has characterized as "a war crime."

“You can expect further sanctions announcements this week. And we are coordinating with our allies and partners on what the exact parameters of that will be, but yes, this week we will have additional economic pressure elements to announce,” Sullivan said.

Sullivan echoed the president by describing Russian forces' alleged actions in Bucha, Ukraine, as a war crime, but said they were not ready to call it "genocide."

"We have seen atrocities, we have seen war crimes," he said, but added they "have not seen a level of systemic depravation of life” that could be defined as a genocide.

White House national security adviser Jake Sullivan said Monday during a press briefing that Russia is guilty of war crimes and that the photos emerging from Bucha seem to be further evidence.

"We had already concluded that Russia committed war crimes in Ukraine, and the information from Bucha appears to show further evidence of war crimes," Sullivan said. He also claimed the U.S. presently believes Russia is "revising its war aims."

"Russia is repositioning its forces to concentrate its offensive operations in eastern and parts of southern Ukraine, rather than target most of the territory," he said.

Earlier on Monday, President Biden condemned Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal."

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 410 civilians were found in Kyiv-area towns and cities that were recently retaken from Russian forces. In Bucha, more than 100 civilians were found buried in mass graves.

A convoy of seven buses with the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) intended to evacuate people from Mariupol, Ukraine, was reportedly stopped Monday on the way to its destination and is being held by police in nearby Manhush.

"A team from the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is being held in the town of Manhush, 20 kilometers west of Mariupol," ICRC spokesperson Jason Straziuso said, according to Reuters. He said police were holding the convoy but clarified that it was "not a hostage situation."

The bodies of the mayor of a Ukrainian village outside Kyiv and her husband and adult son were reportedly found in a shallow grave after the three were abducted by Russian occupying forces.

Mayor of the Village of Motyzhyn, Olga Sukhenko, was "unfortunately killed in captivity by the Russians," Ukrainian Deputy Prime Minister Iryna Vereshchuk confirmed.

"This is a war crime," Vereshchuk said in an address of Sukhenko’s killing. "The guilty will inevitably be punished in accordance with international humanitarian law."

Vereshchuk said there are 11 mayors and community heads in Russian captivity across Ukraine, including leaders from Kyiv, Kherson, Kharkiv, Zaporizhzhia, Mykolaiv and Donetsk regions.

Fox News' Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.

For more on this story: Ukraine mayor, family kidnapped by Russian forces found dead, tortured in shallow grave: Ukrainian officials

World leaders are reacting with outrage Monday as evidence is emerging of what appears to be deliberate killings of Ukrainian civilians by the Russian military in cities like Bucha. 

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, who visited Bucha Monday, described the grisly acts as "war crimes" that "will be recognized by the world as genocide."  

Russia, meanwhile, is continuing to claim its military had nothing to do with deaths of the civilians, some of which were recently found dead with their wrists bound and with bullet wounds in their head.  

Here is how the world is reacting to the massacre in Bucha and the discovery of what Ukraine says is the bodies of 410 civilians in towns around the capital, Kyiv, that were recaptured from Russian forces in recent days.

For more on this story: World leaders react to Bucha, Ukraine massacre: ‘Genocide’, ‘Despicable’, ‘Dreadful’

A senior U.S. defense official said Monday that the U.S. has coordinated the transfer of security aid packages from half a dozen countries to Ukraine over the last 24 hours as Russia is continuing its invasion.

"Everything we're doing in respect to Ukraine is being expedited. Everything," the official said.

When asked about civilian killings in Bucha, the official said "It's sickening, it's disgusting" and that the U.S. believes it "should be added to the allegations of war crimes and investigated."

The official also said two-thirds of Russian troops north of Kyiv have now moved away from the area or into Belarus.

Fox News' Liz Friden contributed to this report.

Appearing somber and at times visibly emotional, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy paid a visit to the town of Bucha outside of the capital of Kyiv Monday after disturbing images surfaced showing the bodies of civilians tortured and killed after Russian troops pulled back in recent days.

“First of all, it’s very important to us that the press is here and there are journalists,” Zelenskyy told reporters in Bucha on Monday. “We want you to show the world what was happening here, what the Russian military was doing, what the Russian regime was doing.”

Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venedyktova said Sunday that the bodies of 410 civilians have been retrieved from Bucha, the neighboring towns of Irpin and Hostomel and smaller villages around Kyiv.

For more on this story: Ukraine's Zelenskyy visits Bucha massacre site: 'War crimes' must be recognized by the world as 'genocide'

President Biden on Monday called for an "actual war crime trial" as evidence of atrocities committed against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha emerged over the weekend, but denied that the attacks amounted to a "genocide," while, again, labeling Russian President Vladimir Putin as a "war criminal."

Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 410 civilians were found in Kyiv-area towns and cities that were recently retaken from Russian forces. In Bucha, alone, more than 100 civilians were found buried in mass graves.

"He is a war criminal," Biden said of Putin Monday morning upon returning to Washington D.C., vowing that the United States will "continue to provide Ukraine with weapons they need to continue to fight."

For more on this story: Biden calls for Ukraine war crimes trial, denies 'genocide' in Bucha

The United Nations on Monday confirmed over 3,500 people killed or wounded since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24.

That number is likely just the tip of the iceberg as the group has been unable to gain access to areas of heavy fighting.

The U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) officially confirmed that 1,430 civilians had been killed and 2,097 injured since the Russian invasion began, with 121 children among the dead. The office said explosive weapons – heavy artillery, missile and airstrikes – caused most deaths.

The OHCHR has cautioned that this likely was only the beginning. Intense hostilities in areas across the country, especially in the Eastern regions of Donestsk and Luhansk, have prevented independent confirmation. Corroboration is being sought in Mariupol, Izium, Popsana and Irpin.

For more on this story: UN: Russia's Ukraine war sees at least 1,430 civilians killed, numbers expected to rise significantly

Russia is facing a rapidly escalating international outcry as more horrific images and stories are emerging of alleged atrocities being committed against Ukrainian civilians.

One Ukrainian lawmaker said that Russian troops beheaded an elderly woman who was trying to flee the city of Bucha, where bodies have been found in mass graves. 

Ukrainian parliament member Oleksiy Goncharenko said Russian troops beheaded an elderly woman who was trying to flee the city of Bucha, where bodies have been found in mass graves, describing the graphic scene in the Kyiv region as a "scene from a horror movie." 

"That's a real genocide. Russians should pay for these war crimes," Goncharenko said Monday outside the vehicle where the grandmother allegedly was traveling in with her daughter and granddaughter before her gruesome death, according to Reuters.

Ukrainian officials say the bodies of 410 civilians were found in Kyiv-area towns and cities – like Bucha – that were recently retaken from Russian forces. 

For more on this story: Bucha massacre: Global outcry against Russia escalates as horrifying stories emerge of Ukraine atrocities

The leader of the British secret intelligence agency, MI6, said Sunday that "we knew" that Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion plans for Ukraine included "summary executions." 

The shocking assertion appears to tie Putin directly to what Western countries have decried as war crimes coming to light in the suburbs of Kyiv as Russian troops have pulled back in recent days. 

Ukrainian officials and at least the leaders of Poland and Spain have gone a step further to say Russians committed genocide during what's been deemed the Bucha massacre, as shocking images have surfaced of civilians with their hands tied behind their backs shot and killed at close range and bodies of women and children showing signs of rape and torture. 

"We knew Putin’s invasion plans included summary executions by his military and intelligence services," Chief of MI6 Richard Moore tweeted on Sunday. "The reports of execution-style killings of civilians emerging from liberated areas are horrifying and chilling."  

For more on this story: MI6 chief says 'summary executions' seen in Bucha, Ukraine, were part of Putin's invasion plan

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Monday that it is "vital that all efforts are made to ensure there are independent and effective investigations into what happened in Bucha to ensure truth, justice and accountability, as well as reparations and remedy for victims and their families."

She added that she is "horrified by the images of civilians lying dead on the streets and in improvised graves in the town of Bucha in Ukraine."

"Reports emerging from this and other areas raise serious and disturbing questions about possible war crimes, grave breaches of international humanitarian law and serious violations of international human rights law," Bachelet also said.

European leaders are speaking out as evidence is emerging of Ukrainian civilians being killed by Russia's military. Here is what they are saying:

- Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman, Max Blain, said bodies found in areas recently recaptured from Russia showed “despicable attacks against innocent civilians, and they are yet more evidence that Putin and his army are committing what appear to be war crimes in Ukraine.”

- Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama said in a tweet that the "dreadful images of civilians killed in Bucha Massacre, Ukraine, by the Russian army are shocking. "Everything must be done for an independent investigation of such horrible crimes," he added. "Nothing can ever excuse such cruelty. What a pain and what a shame!"

- Kosovo’s Prime Minister Albin Kurti said the bodies found in Bucha reminded him of similar atrocities committed in his country during the 1998-1999 war between ethnic Albanian independent fighters and Serbian forces. “Mass graves, people brutally killed with body parts missing, burned houses and cities turned to rubble are all familiar scenes from genocidal regimes,” he posted Monday on Twitter.

- Poland Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki said Monday that "Russia is already a totalitarian-fascist state today."“The bloody massacres perpetrated by Russian soldiers deserve to be called by name: This is genocide and this crime must be tried as the crime of genocide,” he added.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.