After districts around Kyiv were freed from occupying troops, the scope of Russian crimes against Ukraine’s civilian population became obvious. Images from Bucha, a town north-west of Kyiv, revealed multiple bodies of deceased citizens spread throughout its streets. The mayor of the town said that Russian soldiers had murdered his residents in cold blood.

According to a renowned scholar at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), Putin’s intention all along was to target and kill innocent civilians in order to inflict maximum dread on the public.

“Anyone who claims that Bucha is the outcome of brutalisation or renegade behaviour is incorrect,” remarked Jack Watling.

“This was the plan. It was pre-meditated. It is consistent with Russian methods in Chechnya.

“And if the Russian military had been more successful there would have been many more towns like it.”

On his previous trip to Kyiv, Mr Watling was informed by a top Ukrainian security officer that the Kremlin had despatched a “team into the Belarusian axis who will spearhead the executions.”

Ukrainian ministers and authorities stated that photographs of slaughtered people indicate Russia seeks nothing less than utter annihilation of their nation.

They urged Western governments to send more powerful weaponry and impose tougher penalties on Moscow.

Ukraine’s Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, tweeted: “The atrocity in Bucha was planned. The Russians intend to exterminate as many Ukrainians as possible.

“We need to put a stop to them and kick them out. I urge that fresh, terrible G7 sanctions be imposed immediately:

-Embargo on oil, gas, and coal

-Close all Russian ports to Russian boats and products.

-Remove all Russian banks from SWIFT.”

President Volodymr Zelensky’s advisor, Mikhail Podolyak, stated: “Russia is launching a war to annihilate the Ukrainian nation.