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Ukrainian village leader and her family found shot and buried in shallow grave

Ukainian President Volodymyr Zelensky stands in the town of Bucha, northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, on April 4, 2022. - Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky said on April 3, 2022 the Russian leadership was responsible for civilian killings in Bucha, outside Kyiv, where bodies were found lying in the street after the town was retaken by the Ukrainian army. (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT / AFP) (Photo by RONALDO SCHEMIDT/AFP via Getty Images)
Ukainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Vladimir Putin of committing war crimes after bodies were found in areas regained from Russian troops (Getty Images)

The bodies of a Ukrainian mayor, her husband, and their son, have been found in a shallow grave in their village, after Russian forces are reported to have executed the family.

Olha Sukhenko, leader of the village of Motyzhyn, together with her husband Ihor Sukhenko and their son Oleksandr, were taken captive by Russian forces two to three days before troops left the village, according to locals.

Their bodies were discovered on Monday, covered in sand.

 SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB    Covered bodies are seen on a highway 20km from Kyiv, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues, in Kyiv region, Ukraine, April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Mikhail Palinchak
Covered bodies on a road 20km from Kyiv on Monday, as Russia's invasion of Ukraine continues (REUTERS/Mikhail Palinchak)

Vadym Tokar, head of the Makariv village council which neighbors Motyzhyn, said: "The bodies are still lying there, we can't get them out because there is a suspicion that they are mined."

Evidence of widespread atrocities committed by Russian troops has emerged in recent days as soldiers withdrew from Kyiv and the surrounding regions.

Ukraine's Ministry of Defence released a series of harrowing images on Sunday from the town of Bucha, showing bodies left lying in the street, some with the hands tied behind their backs and shot in the head. Locals said some victims were shot in the eyes by Russian soldiers.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden called fro Vladimir Putin to be prosecuted for war crimes.

"You saw what happened in Bucha," Biden told reporters, saying the Russian president "is a war criminal" and there should be "a war crimes trial".

Mass graves have been uncovered, and media who have visited the area since the Russians retreat have said there is "clear evidence" of war crimes, including torture and rape.

The destruction has led to accusations that Vladimir Putin is carrying out a genocide.

Russia has denied that its troops have been targeting civilians, saying reports of mass slaughter were "staged" to sully Russia's name.

 SENSITIVE MATERIAL. THIS IMAGE MAY OFFEND OR DISTURB    A body of a civilian, who according to residents was killed by Russian army soldiers, lies on the street, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in Bucha, in Kyiv region, Ukraine April 2, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
The body of a civilian who, according to locals, was killed by Russian army soldiers, lies on the street in Bucha (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

Anton Herashchenko, an adviser to the Ukrainian interior ministry, spoke to reporters as he revealed the bodies believed to be the Sukhenko, family.

"There have been Russian occupiers here. They tortured and murdered the whole family of the village head," he said.

"The occupiers suspected they were collaborating with our military, giving us locations of where to target our artillery.

"These scum tortured, slaughtered and killed the whole family. They will be responsible for this."

Motyzhyn sits around 30 miles west of Kyiv.

Emergency service members carry the body of a civilian killed by Russian shelling to be transferred to a mortuary, after bodies were collected from different locations, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in Irpin Ukraine April 1, 2022. REUTERS/Gleb Garanich
Emergency services carry the body of a civilian killed by Russian shelling to a mortuary in Irpin, Ukraine (Reuters)
A grave where two men have been buried, who according to residents were shot dead in the eye by Russian soldiers, is seen at the garden of a building, amid Russia's invasion on Ukraine, in Bucha, Ukraine April 3, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
A grave of two men who, according to residents, were shot dead in the eye by Russian soldiers, in Bucha, Ukraine, on Monday (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra

Ukrainian authorities have claimed 410 civilians were killed in Bucha and Irpin.

Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy accused Russian forces of torturing and executing hundreds of people in a Facebook post after the bodies were discovered.

Tetiana, wife of Volodymyr Rurak, a soldier killed by Russian shelling in the town of Lyman in Donetsk Oblast, holds her daughter Oleksandra as she mourns by her husband's grave during his funeral at the Lychakiv cemetery, in Lviv, Ukraine, March 25, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra
The wife of a Ukrainian soldier killed by Russian shelling in the town of Lyman holds her daughter as she attends his funeral (REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra)

“I want every mother of every Russian soldier to see the bodies of the killed people in Bucha, in Irpin, in Hostomel,” Zelenskyy said. “What did they do? Why were they killed?”

“War crimes in Bucha and other cities during the Russian occupation will also be considered by the UN Security Council on Tuesday,” he added.

The UK and allies in the European Union, are said to be preparing to deliver another round of sanctions on Russia following mounting evidence of war crimes committed by its forces in Ukraine.

TOPSHOT - People react as they gather close to a mass grave in the town of Bucha, just northwest of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv on April 3, 2022. - President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russia of committing genocide and attempting to eliminate the
Locals react as they gather close to a mass grave in the town of Bucha (Getty)

In a statement published on Monday, the European Council said: “The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the reported atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian towns, that have now been liberated.

“The massacres in the town of Bucha and other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities committed on European soil."

Boris Johnson vowed on Monday that Putin will “never conquer” Ukraine.

The PM wrote on Twitter: “Putin will never break the spirit of Ukraine’s people or conquer their homeland.

“Ukraine will rise again and take her place among free and sovereign nations once more.”

On Sunday, Russia's defense ministry said in a statement all photographs and videos published by the Ukrainian authorities alleging crimes by Russian troops in Bucha were a "provocation" and no resident of Bucha suffered violence at the hands of Russian troops.

Watch: Ukrainian authorities accuse Putin's forces of committing war crimes