At least thirteen dead citizens were discovered today along a highway outside of Kiev after being left behind by withdrawing Russian forces, who booby trapped additional corpses.

It is the same stretch of road where Russian forces were seen on tape executing a Russian couple in aerial drone footage that horrified the globe in early March.

As Western journalists accompany advancing Ukrainian troops towards Kyiv, they are unearthing fresh proof of Putin’s army committing war crimes, with the mayor of one city alleging 300 people were slain in the previous month.

Soldiers and volunteers were seen dragging corpse bags down a destroyed section of road in Irpin on Friday. A dozen victims were placed in black plastic body bags, lined up on the concrete, and put into vehicles.

The commuter area northwest of Kyiv, which had been a major battleground for weeks, is now firmly in Ukrainian hands, a wasteland filled with burned-out tanks. Now that Ukraine’s soldiers have forced Russia out of the region, efforts on collecting the remains may begin.

According to the mayor of Irpin, up to 300 people and 50 “defenders” were slain during Russia’s occupation. According to him, up to 50% of the city’s structures and key infrastructure were damaged.

Before Russian President Vladimir Putin started his invasion on Ukraine on February 24, the city had a population of roughly 60,000 people. Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn stated that around 3,500 people remained in Irpin and that officials are still seeking for persons who have sheltered in their basements.

He urged with locals not to return home just yet because the city is still under assault from Russian artillery.

A nearby BBC investigation discovered 13 bodies sprawled over a 200-yard section of the E-40 expressway, which leads into Kyiv from the west and is roughly 5 miles south of Irpin. Two of the victims were a young couple who were slain while attempting to flee the capital via the highway.

Maksim Iowenko, his wife Ksjena, and their six-year-old kid were travelling along the road with a 10-car convoy when they came under fire from a Russian tank crew.

On March 7, harrowing footage showed Maksim stopping the car and stepping out with his hands raised. Despite the evident gesture of surrender, Russian forces killed him down in broad daylight, concealed in a tree line along the side of the road. His wife was also murdered.

The footage, shot by a drone flown by the Ukrainian military’s Bugatti drone unit, which was monitoring the Russian crew’s position at the time, shows his corpse slumping to the floor.

His wife was also slain in the attack, but their son and an elderly woman, the mother of one of Maksim’s friends who was also in the car, escaped. They were later freed by Russian forces and discovered wandering along the road.

When the lady got home, she informed her family that Maksim had been yelling that there was a kid in the car when he was slain by Russian forces.

The reporters also claimed to have discovered other evidence of attempted body destruction. Others were thrown beneath tyres, with burnt clothing, while some were left to decompose. According to the BBC, only two of the dead discovered on the same stretch of road bore identifiable Ukrainian military uniforms.

Under international humanitarian law, the massacre of civilians, particularly those who do not constitute a danger, is considered a war crime.

The Bugatti unit has turned over its film to Kyiv authorities as well as the Metropolitan Police in the United Kingdom, whose War Crimes squad is investigating the conflict in Ukraine in partnership with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

‘Fifty percent of the city, including essential infrastructure, is devastated,’ he continued. While Irpin is ‘100%’ under Ukrainian control, he adds that it is’still hazardous’ and is being shelled by Russia.

On Monday, Ukraine said that the commuter town had been ‘liberated’ from Russian soldiers.

According to Markushyn, at least 50 Ukrainian soldiers were killed and another 100 were injured in the struggle for the town.

‘There are no more Russian invaders in the city,’ Markushyn stated.

Before Russian President Vladimir Putin started his invasion on Ukraine on February 24, Irpin had a population of roughly 60,000 people. The mayor stated that around 3,500 people remained and that ‘we are still hunting for individuals in basements.’

‘Please don’t return,’ he begged to people who had escaped Irpin. It’s perilous. I’ll let you know when we can return. But you won’t be allowed to return for another month.’

He said that Russian soldiers are still shelling Irpin from Bucha, a less than six-mile-away neighbourhood of Kyiv.

Russian soldiers bombarded Irpin from the outset of the conflict, and it is seen as a crucial entry point into Kiev. Earlier last month, a US journalist was assassinated in the town. Since then, it has been closed to the media.

There have been several accusations of possible war crimes around the country since Vladimir Putin started his invasion on Ukraine on February 24.

Russian forces have regularly targeted Ukrainian medical infrastructure, including hospitals, ambulances, medics, patients, and even babies. The March 9 bombing of a children’s and maternity facility in Mariupol was one of the most fully recorded strikes.

On March 16, a Russian strike damaged a theatre that was being used as a refuge by up to 1,300 people in the southern coastal city.

Because to Russian bombardment, officials have been unable to go near enough to the scene to evaluate the entire extent of the devastation, although up to 300 people are estimated to have been killed.

With each fresh strike, the public calls for war crimes trials for Russian President Vladimir Putin, his generals, and senior Kremlin aides grow louder.

According to Amnesty International, Russia’s siege warfare methods are illegally murdering people in a number of cities. The group’s expert investigation discovered evidence of Russian military use of cluster munitions and unguided ‘dumb’ bombs in densely populated civilian areas.

The human rights organisation gathered evidence detailing the mediaeval methods, which included indiscriminate illegal attacks, interruption of essential utilities, communication cutbacks, damage of civilian infrastructure, and limits on access to medicine and healthcare.

Olesky Stovba, a 41-year-old father, was injured by a cluster munition while shopping groceries in the city’s Mala-Danylivka area on the morning of March 4.

Living under the fear of Russian gunshots and bombs, while pulling old ladies out of the debris of their homes, has become his ‘new existence,’ according to a guy from Kharkiv whose name was withheld to protect his identity.

We boil ice for water every three days. The refuge is home to 300 individuals. The majority are elderly, frail, and have asthma or diabetes. Some haven’t left the refuge in three weeks,’ the guy explained.

‘The most serious problem in Saltivka is that the elderly die due to a lack of medicine, shock, or a heart attack. It is critical to get them in the ground and bury them since the weather will warm up soon and they will disintegrate.’

Amnesty International’s Crisis Response Director, Joanne Mariner

‘Russia’s continuous indiscriminate strikes, which cause completely devastating devastation over time, are a distinguishing element of these terrible sieges. For the past five weeks, citizens in Ukraine have witnessed their communities being devastated on a daily basis.

‘Our on-the-ground research has shown that some of Ukraine’s most vulnerable individuals are suffering disproportionately while these harsh siege tactics persist.’ Civilians trapped in besieged cities must have immediate access to humanitarian corridors to allow for the safe evacuation of all those who desire to flee.

‘Humanitarian help must also be permitted to reach those who remain,’ she added.

Prosecutors will need to establish that the strikes in Ukraine were not accidental or incidental damage in order to prosecute Russia of war crimes.

Military attacks against civilian people and their property are typically prohibited under international law dating back more than a century.

The International Criminal Court in The Hague and Ukrainian prosecutors are already working to gather evidence for possible criminal indictments.

Last month, Chief ICC Prosecutor Karim A.A. Khan stated that his office had begun an inquiry after receiving referrals from 39 countries on probable evidence of war crimes perpetrated in Ukraine.

President Joe Biden has stated that he believes Putin is a war criminal, and the US government has determined that members of Russia’s military forces are war criminals.

As word of the full extent of the damage in Irpin spread, the Kremlin threatened to withdraw from peace negotiations after accusing Ukrainian helicopters of bombing an oil complex inside Russia.

Regional governor Vyacheslav Gladkov stated that two Ukrainian military helicopters drove 25 miles unnoticed beyond the Russian border at low altitude to Belgorod and launched S-8 missiles at a Roseneft storage, sparking a massive flame that firemen are still battling.

‘Of course, this is not anything that can be viewed as establishing suitable conditions for the continuation of discussions,’ said Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov.

However, there have been concerns that Russia will execute a false flag assault on itself in order to justify an escalation of the conflict or to gain support.

Dmytro Kuleba, Ukraine’s foreign minister, stated, ‘I can neither confirm nor deny that Ukraine was involved in this simply because I do not have all of the military intelligence.’

Gladkov, who was appointed by Vladimir Putin in 2020, claimed the air attack, the first on Russian territory since WWII, injured two employees and forced the evacuation of portions of the city.

Although observers have observed that Russia employs the same time of helicopters as Ukraine, video published on social media appeared to show the strike occurring at 5.43am local time, followed by helicopters flying away from the burning.

Ilya Ponomarev, 46, claims that the Russian security force is planning to strike its own chemical and weapons plants, perhaps killing people.

It comes as Ukraine makes gains within its own borders, recapturing the two vital villages of Sloboda and Lukashivka on a main supply line, while Putin continues to move forces back to Belarus and the Donbas, where he is currently focusing his war effort.