The mayor of the Ukrainian town of Bucha says more than 160 residents reportedly killed by Russian forces have been identified.
"To date, we have been able to identify 163 of those killed," said Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk in an interview with Voice of America.
"These are residents of our town who were cynically killed, brutally tortured by the Russians. We know their last names, first names, patronymics [father's names], where they lived, and who they were — fathers, sons, wives, in one family or another."
Fedoruk's assessment represents roughly more than half the total number killed in Bucha since the onset of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on Feb. 24.
When pressed of how many people, civilian or soldier, have been killed in his city, Fedoruk answered, "320 people."
Russia has denied any involvement in the alleged murders or torturing of civilians in Bucha, according to Newsweek.
Citing that report, Vasily Nebenzya, Russia's envoy to the United Nations, says Russia has "empirical evidence" that it wasn't involved in the Bucha atrocities.
Bucha is located near the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Russia's unprovoked actions in recent weeks have prompted a number of world leaders, including President Joe Biden, to declare that Russian President Vladimir Putin has committed "war crimes" or endorsed "genocide."
Fedoruk claims that Bucha officials recently found five "young people" in the town's Melniki district with their hands tied, according to reports.
"There were a large number of people shot on the streets... people were shot with machine guns," he said.
But as the eerie silence continues in Bucha, post-military conflict, Fedoruk is warning his people that it's still "too early" to return.
"A significant percentage of the territory is still dangerous," Fedoruk said. "Every day, we find more and more bodies of the dead, in different parts of our city — in vegetable gardens, in park areas, in playgrounds."
According to Newsweek, Russian officials reportedly believe the alleged killings of civilians in Bucha might have been staged by the Ukrainian government, as a means of justifying more sanctions against Russia.
The Kremlin asserts that Russian forces vacated Bucha no later than March 30.
Citing the Newsweek report, Russia's ambassador to the U.S., Anatoly Antonov, has said the Bucha allegations "could derail peace talks between Ukraine and Russia."
The United Nations' General Assembly voted Thursday to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council.
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