Dmitry Peshkov, a spokesman for President Vladimir Putin, used an interview with Sky News’ Mark Austin to acknowledge the “significant” losses of Russian forces over the past six weeks. “It’s a huge tragedy for us,” he said. Russia has released the latest official figures for the number of Russian soldiers killed in fighting in Ukraine on March 25, bringing the total to 1,351. But the actual number is believed to be much higher. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 1:07 Ukraine responds to the allegations of the Kremlin representative. Ukraine’s armed forces say about 18,700 Russian soldiers have been killed so far, though that number has not been confirmed. Mr. Peshkov’s use of the word “significant” to describe the magnitude of the loss may signal a new willingness to face the reality of the price paid in blood by the Kremlin – and the country – for invading its neighbor. However, the president’s spokesman has not experienced the same kind of enlightenment on war crimes that Putin and his military have been accused of committing – backed by significant physical evidence and eyewitness testimony – against Ukrainian civilians. Image: The corpses of the citizens are being prepared for transfer to a morgue in Bouha One of the deadliest attacks so far has been in the city of Bukha, just outside Kyiv, which came under Russian control for about a month before the troops retreated. During this period, Russian soldiers are suspected of torturing and executing people, while the Russian bombing left many dead. The bodies of men and women lay untouched in the streets of the city, with family, friends and neighbors very afraid to go and retrieve them if they had the same fate. Mr Peshkov tried to dismiss the allegations as “well-directed allusion” and “boldly false”. Use the Chrome browser for a more accessible video player 0:30 Bodies in Bukha “not victims of the Russian army” But his denials collapse in the face of the weight of evidence on the ground, including many bodies found with their hands tied and shot in the head or chest, as well as multiple testimonies from city residents that they saw Russian troops killing civilians. The Kremlin has a long history of using lies, denials, distortions and distortions to try to create confusion and doubt and to hide the reality of any hostile activity it has committed. However, the scale of the massacre in Bucha and throughout Ukraine is impossible to put aside in words alone in a television interview.
