(UTV | UKRAINE) – The US defence department has accused Russian President Vladimir Putin of acting with “depravity” in his invasion of Ukraine.
Spokesman John Kirby became visibly emotional as he asked how anyone “moral” could justify the atrocities committed by Russia.
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said on Friday he was still open to peace talks with Mr Putin. But he said there was a high risk they could collapse amid Russian aggression.
Speaking to a media, Mr Zelensky said he wanted to meet Mr Putin because “a single man decides everything” in Russia.
But the destruction left by Russian forces in occupied areas has made any discussions tenuous, he said. “After Bucha and Mariupol people just want to kill them. When there is such attitude, it is hard to talk about anything.”
On Thursday, Ukraine announced a hunt for 10 Russian soldiers accused of war crimes in Bucha – a suburb north of Kyiv where at least 400 civilians were killed.
“I don’t think we fully appreciated the degree to which [Mr Putin] would visit that kind of violence and cruelty,” Mr Kirby said on Friday.