Dozens of Ukrainians found in grave near Kyiv as battle looms in east

Some cities there are under heavy shelling with tens of thousands of people unable to evacuate.

A grave with dozens of Ukrainians civilians has been found in Buzova village near Kyiv, an official said, the latest reported mass grave to be discovered as Russian forces retreat from their offensive on the capital and focus their assault on the east.

Taras Didych, head of the Dmytrivka community that includes Buzova, told Ukrainian television that the bodies were found in a ditch near a petrol station. The number of dead had yet to be confirmed.

"Now we are returning to life but during the occupation we had our 'hotspots', many civilians died," Didych said on Saturday.

Reuters was not immediately able to confirm the report.

Mounting civilian casualties have triggered a new wave of international condemnation, in particular over hundreds of deaths in the town of Bucha, to the northwest of Kyiv that until last week was occupied by Russian forces.

Ukraine and the West have accused Russian forces of war crimes in Bucha.

Russia has denied targeting civilians in what it calls a "special operation" to demilitarize and "denazify" its southern neighbour. Ukraine and Western nations have dismissed this as a baseless pretext for war.