Russia requests UN Security Council meeting on Bucha in Ukraine

Moscow's deputy ambassador to UN Dmitry Polyanskiy says request was made 'in light of heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals'

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  A Ukrainian soldier inspects a burnt Russian tank in Dmytrivka, Kyiv region. Getty Images

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  Ukrainians who fled to Mexico amid Russia's invasion of their homeland arrive at a shelter near the US border, in Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters

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  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy speaks from Kyiv. AP

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  A woman hugs a Ukrainian soldier after a convoy of military and aid vehicles arrived in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha. AP

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  Shrapnel marks are seen on the statue of a child after shelling that hit the Gorky amusement park, in Kharkiv. Reuters

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  A Ukrainian soldier walks next to a military vehicle, outside Kyiv. AP

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  A man distributes toilet paper rolls as people wait for medicine and sanitary supply handouts in the formerly Russian-occupied Kyiv suburb of Bucha, Ukraine. AP

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  A woman cooks on an open fire outside an apartment building, in Bucha. AP

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  A Ukrainian soldier check streets for booby traps after Russian troops withdrew from Bucha. AP

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  Graves of residents who died during the Russian invasion, in front of residential buildings in the areas recaptured by the Ukrainian army, in Kyiv. EPA

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  Destroyed Russian military vehicles on a street in Kyiv. EPA

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  A Ukrainian soldier walks by the wreckage of the Antonov An-225 Mriya aircraft , the world's largest cargo airplane and relic of the Soviet space programme, which was destroyed during fighting in Hostomel, Ukraine. AP

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  Ukrainian soldiers shout patriotic slogans with the Antonov An-225 in the background. AP

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  Yulia Dyrda, who sustained arm injuries from Russian shelling, recovers at a hospital in Chuhuiv, Ukraine. Getty Images

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  Residents stand next to a stuck Russian tank, in Nova Basan. Reuters

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  The mother of Lt Oliynyk Dmytro, 40, mourns his death during his funeral ceremony, after the soldier was killed in action, in Lviv, western Ukraine. AP

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  Ukrainian refugees rest in the ticket hall at Przemysl Glowny train station, Poland. Reuters

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  A dog walks past the wreckage of a Russian armored personnel carrier, in Dmytrivka, Kyiv region. Getty Images

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  Ukrainians ride bicycles past destroyed cars in the town of Bucha, north-west of the capital Kyiv. Reuters

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  Buildings damaged by shelling in the town of Makariv, in Kyiv region. Reuters

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  A woman carries her dog during an evacuation in the town of Irpin outside Kyiv. Reuters

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  Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy gives a video update in which he said the situation in east of the country remained extremely difficult. Reuters

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  The Drax Power Station in North Yorkshire, England, illuminated in the colours of the Ukrainian flag. Reuters

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  Russian soldiers destroyed this bridge as they withdrew from a village on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

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  A child wrapped in a rescue emergency blanket crosses the border into Medyka, south-eastern Poland. AP Photo

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  Flowers lay on a Ukrainian armoured vehicle destroyed during fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces on the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

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  Damaged houses and a burnt-out Russian armoured vehicle on the outskirts of Kyiv. AFP

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  Ukrainian soldier Dasha, 22, checks her phone after a military sweep to search for Russian troops after their withdrawal from villages in the outskirts of Kyiv. AP Photo

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  Ammunition scattered on the ground next to a Ukrainian armoured car destroyed in fighting outside Kyiv. AP Photo

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Russia has called for a special UN Security Council meeting to address claims that its forces committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha.

On Sunday, Dmitry Polyanskiy, Russia's deputy ambassador to the UN, requested a meeting of the council “in the light of heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals”, he said in a post on Twitter.

Ukraine and Western leaders have expressed outrage over the discovery of mass graves and hundreds of dead people in the small town north-west of Kyiv. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy directly blamed Moscow for the “killings” of civilians.

AP journalists saw at least 21 corpses in Bucha, with hands tied behind their backs. The European Union joined Mr Zelenskyy in holding Russia responsible for the deaths the civilians, by some accounts as many as 300 killings.

"Shocked by news of atrocities committed by Russian forces. EU assists Ukraine in documenting war crimes," EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said on Twitter.

Mr Borrell called for cases to be "pursued" by the International Court of Justice.

Russia denied the accusations and said Kyiv staged footage of the corpses.

Senior Washington official Samantha Power, a former US ambassador to the UN, criticised Moscow's UN move and said it was designed to “feign outrage”.

“Russia is drawing from the playbook it used for Crimea and Aleppo,” Ms Power, the administrator of the US Agency for International Development, wrote on Twitter.

Ukraine said on Saturday its forces had retaken all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched its invasion on February 24.

UN authorities have yet to publicly state whether a Security Council emergency meeting will take place on Monday.

On Monday and Tuesday, a delegation of Arab League foreign ministers will meet their Russian and Ukrainian counterparts to seek a diplomatic solution to the war.