Volodymyr Zelenskyy: 'Substantial Evidence' Points To Russia Committing Genocide

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy once again called on global leaders to take punitive action against Russia, saying substantial evidence in his country points to Russia committing genocide against his people but not everyone has got the guts to stand up and stop the bloodshed.

Its clear that is not even a war; its a genocide. They just killed people, not soldiers. People. They just shot people in the streets, he told CNNs Jake Tapper of the numerous atrocities seen throughout the country since the start of Russias invasion, while highlighting the slaughter of people in Bucha, a suburb of Kyiv, in particular.

These were not soldiers; they were civilians. They bound their hands; they forced children to watch as they raped their mothers; then they threw them in a well or in mass graves. Children, adults, the elderly. And we have substantial evidence that points to this being a genocide, audio and video where they talk about just how much they hate us, he said in an interview that aired in full Sunday.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa tells CNN's @jaketapper that his country has \"substantial evidence\" that Russia is committing genocide. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/MfDLb2NmWB

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Ukrainian President Volodymyr @ZelenskyyUa tells CNN's @jaketapper that his country has "substantial evidence" that Russia is committing genocide. #CNNSOTU pic.twitter.com/MfDLb2NmWB
State of the Union (@CNNSotu) April 17, 2022

Video and satellite images taken in Bucha in recent weeks show bodies lining the streets while Russias military was in control of the region, rebutting Russias claim that the bodies had been placed there after its military left. Some of the bodies were seen with their hands bound behind their backs and gunshot wounds to the head.

Zelenskyy, a father of two, expressed particular heartbreak over a recent video circulating that shows a mother finding her childs body down a well in the village of Buzova near Kyiv. He called the video the most horrifying thing I have seen in my life.

I cant watch it as a father, only because all you want after this is revenge and to kill. I have to watch it as the president of a state where a lot of people have died and lost their loved ones, he said. And there are millions of people who want to live. All of us want to fight. But we all have to do our best for this war not to be endless. The longer it is, the more we would lose.