United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on visited the war-torn towns of Bucha and Borodyanka near Kyiv on Thursday and decried alleged Russian war crimes that left dozens of Ukrainian civilians dead.

“I imagine my family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black. I see my granddaughters running away in panic,” the UN Sec-Gen told the press after his visit to Borodyanka, which lay flattened after weeks of Russian shelling.

“The war is an absurdity in the 21st century. The war is evil,” he added.

Also read | Putin’s decision to cut off gas rattles Europe at little cost to Russia

The UN Sec-Gen went on to visit the neighbouring town of Bucha, where dozens of civilians have been found dead, many with hands tied behind their backs suggesting that they had been executed.

“This horrific scenario demonstrates something that is unfortunately always true — that civilians always pay the highest price. Innocent civilians were living in these buildings. They were paying the highest price for a war for which they not contributed at all,” Guterres was quoted as saying by CNN after his visit to Bucha.

Also read | ‘We’re all going to die someday’: Russian TV host on possible nuclear war

“I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept, to cooperate with the ICC,” the 72-year-old added, referring to ongoing investigations into alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Guterres is slated to meet Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelensky later on Thursday, along with Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba.

Also read | Russia-occupied Kherson will use ruble starting May 1: Report

The meeting between Guterres and Zelensky will mark the first face-to-face meeting between them since the Russian invasion began on February 24: they had earlier spoken over the telephone, but had not met.

Yet, Guterres’ visit to Ukraine has drawn criticism from some quarters, especially in light of the fact that he travelled to Moscow to meet Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday. During that meeting, Putin alleged that Ukrainian accusations about Russian atrocities in Bucha had derailed ongoing peace talks in Turkey.

“But, unfortunately, after reaching agreements and after our clearly demonstrated intentions to create conditions for favorable conditions for the continuation of negotiations, we encountered a provocation in the village of Bucha, to which the Russian army has nothing to do,” Putin had said.