Ukrainian servicemen walk next to destroyed Russian tanks west of Kyiv on April 2. Photo: Genya Savilov/AFP via Getty Images
Russian land mines left by retreating Russian forces in Ukraine's capital region are creating a "catastrophic" situation for civilians, President Volodymyr Zelensky warned Saturday, AP reports.
Driving the news: Russian forces are leaving mines, abandoned equipment and “even the bodies of those killed" around civilian homes, Zelensky said.
State of play: Ukraine and its Western allies are reporting that Russian forces are scaling back military operations near Kyiv, while bolstering troop presence in eastern Ukraine.
- Zelensky said Saturday that he expects towns where Russian forces are retreating to continue experiencing missile strikes and rocket strikes from afar, the AP reported.
- "It’s still not possible to return to normal life, as it used to be, even at the territories that we are taking back after the fighting," Zelensky said.
- "We need to wait until our land is de-mined, wait till we are able to assure you that there won’t be new shelling."
Go deeper: U.S. believes Russia's pullback near Kyiv is "repositioning," not "withdrawal"