At UNSC, India condemns civilian killings in Ukraine's Bucha; calls for independent probe

New Delhi: India on Tuesday condemned the civilian killings in Ukraine's Bucha city and supported calls for an independent investigation into the matter, PTI reported.

"Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing," T.S. Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the United Nations, told a meeting of the Security Council.

"We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation."

India also reiterated its call for immediate cessation of violence and end to hostilities.

Images of mass graves and bodies of civilians who were apparently executed in public places, emerging from the Russia-occupied town has evoked outrage across the world, triggering calls for more sanctions against Russia and vows of action at the International Criminal Court.

Asserting that India continues to remain "deeply concerned at the deteriorating situation", Mr Tirumurti said, "The impact of the crisis is being felt beyond the region with increasing food and energy costs, especially for many developing countries".

"When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option," he added.

The images from Bucha are among the most shocking to emerge from Ukraine since the Russian invasion started in February, leading western nations to accuse the Russian troops of war crimes.

Britain, France, Germany, the United States and NATO have voiced horror at the images, where bodies of civilians – apparently bound and shot -- were found on roads.

Calling Russian President Vladimir Putin "a war criminal" and dubbing the killings "war crime," US President Joe Biden has told reporters there should be "a war crimes trial".

At the UN on Tuesday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said civilians were "crushed by tanks, women were raped and killed in front of their children".

"What the Russian military did in Bucha is cruelty. The UN Charter has been violated literally. The massacre in Bucha is only one of many examples," he was quoted as saying by news agency ANI.

Mr Zelensky, who addressed the UN Security Council for the first time today, asked for a video to be played which showed horrific images of corpses lying on the streets, charred bodies and pictures of mass graves across various Ukrainian cities.

Some of the dead had their hands tied behind their backs and mouths gagged, including children, reported news agency PTI.

Kremlin has rejected the accusations and suggested the images were "fakes". Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said "experts at the ministry of defence have identified signs of video fakes and various fakes".

"We would demand that many international leaders do not rush to sweeping accusations and at least listen to our arguments," he added.