Zelenskyy said some people wonder 'how many Buchas there are' across Ukraine

A Ukrainian serviceman stands amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Wednesday, April 6, 2022. — A Ukrainian serviceman stands amid destroyed Russian tanks in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine on April 6, 2022.
Felipe Dana/AP

Zelenskyy said he doesn't have "real knowledge" of the status of some towns in the east and south of Ukraine.
He added that some wonder "how many Buchas there are yet" across the country.
Bucha, near Kyiv, faced a brutal onslaught by Russian forces, leading to mass grave burials of civilians.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy on Friday said he doesn't know "how many Buchas there are" across his country.

He was referring to the devastated town of Bucha, near Kyiv, which faced a brutal assault from Russian forces. In a recent visit to the town, Zelenskyy said he saw "just death" as the bodies of hundreds of civilians were found following Russia's withdrawal from the area.

"Many ask themselves how many Buchas there are yet. Nobody knows it. We don't have real knowledge on what is going on in the south of our country now or in other small towns around the country. Or in the east of the country," Zelenskyy said on Friday during an interview with BILD, which is owned by Axel Springer, Insider's parent company.

"Some towns were destroyed completely," he continued. "Some towns simply don't exist anymore – no more buildings, no more people. I do not know what we will find there."

At least 50 people were killed on Friday after two Russian rockets hit a train station in Kramatorsk, a town in Donetsk in eastern Ukraine. The station was crammed with people who were fleeing their homes, Ukrainian officials said.

Videos showing potential Russian war crimes in Bucha have emerged in the face of Russia's propaganda campaign to discredit any evidence. The footage from Bucha began circulating in early April and appeared to show bodies lying in the streets and indiscriminate killings of civilians.

During the interview with BILD, reporter Paul Ronzheimer asked Zelenskyy about reports of Russian kill lists detailing which "civilians they should kill and whom to spare."

"I don't have such information or such lists. We have been told that the Russians had known whom to kill. But I am an honest person, I don't have proof," Zelenskyy responded.

He added: "You have seen for yourself how the Russians killed civilians. They killed the mayors and activists in these townships. They possess lists with the names of Ukrainian activists. They gathered the activists in a central spot, they dragged them somewhere. If that's what actually happened in Bucha, I cannot say."

The lists "supposedly existed in large cities like Cherson, where they were afraid of people who connected with each other and gathered in public places to demonstrate against the occupants," Zelenskyy said.

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