Lithuanian PM pays visit to Ukraine

VILNIUS – Lithuanian Prime Minister Ingrida Simonyte on Monday visited Ukraine, which continues to fight against Russia’s invasion.

She took to Twitter to post pictures from Borodyanka, a town near Kyiv recently liberated from the Russian army.

“Today, my visit in Ukraine started in Borodyanka. No words could possibly describe what I saw and felt here,” Simonyte tweeted.

The pictures show Simonyte accompanied by her Ukrainian counterpart Denys Shmyhal and Ukrainian troops looking at a destroyed residential block in Borodyanka.

More than a week ago, Russian forces withdrew from northern Ukraine in order to regroup in the eastern part of the country. The media and investigators have since recorded numerous cases of horrible murders of civilians and destruction left in the territories abandoned by retreating Russian troops.

Ukraine said Sunday it had found more than 1,200 bodies in the Kyiv region, including the towns of Irpin and Bucha near the Ukrainian capital. Some of those bodies were found with their hands tied.

The pictures of atrocities in Ukraine, mostly from Bucha, have shocked the world and turned into a grim symbol of cruelty of the Russian forces in Ukraine.

Ukraine’s prime minister, who also tweeted about his meeting with Simonyte, described the actions of Russian troops as genocide and thanked Lithuania for its contribution to the investigation of war crimes.

“Genocide of Russian Federation against us must be punished. Grateful to Lithuania for joining the investigation of war crimes,” Shmyhal wrote.

“Stop Russia together”, he added.

Simonyte’s visit to Ukraine was not announced in advance.