Ukrainian President, Volodymyr Zelensky, has accused Russian troops of deliberately mining areas of northern Ukraine from which they are withdrawing or being pushed out by Ukrainian forces. 

Ukraine says it has regained control of at least 30 towns and villages in the Kyiv region after Russia announced this week that it would scale down its operations around the capital to focus on fighting in the east.

“In the north of our country, the invaders are leaving. Slowly but surely. In some areas, we drive them out fighting. Elsewhere, they are abandoning their positions,” Zelensky mentioned in a video message, without providing any evidence. “All these lands are being mined. The houses, the equipment, even the corpses,” he added.

Russia’s Defence Ministry did not respond to a request for comment and the Reuters news agency was unable to confirm it from other, independent sources.

Earlier, Ukrainian emergency services called on residents of the newly-liberated areas near Kyiv to be vigilant because, they say, more than 1,500 explosives were found in one day, during searches in the village of Dmitrifka, west of the capital.

Zelensky noted that efforts are being made to demine the areas and advised residents who have left not to return for now. “It is still impossible to return to a normal life,” he warned.

Source: APA MPA

Also read: Ukrainian Issue | Biden-Zelensky telephone conversation – All recent developments