Putin's UN ambassador says if Russia really wanted to kill civilians in Ukraine, more people would be dead

• Putin's UN ambassador said if Russia were targeting Ukrainian civilians, more would be dead.
• He also claimed that Russia is acting in "strict compliance" with international humanitarian law.

Russian President Vladimir Putin's United Nations ambassador, Vasily Nebenzya, said at a press conference Tuesday that if Russia really wanted to kill Ukrainian civilians, more would be dead.

"I would like to reiterate that the Russian military forces act in strict compliance with international humanitarian law and do not target civilians and civilian objects," Nebenzya said.

He said that if the Russians were pursuing attacks on civilians, "the scale of losses and devastation would be worse by digits."

Nebenzya also alleged that the US had killed more civilians in its occupation of Iraq than Russia is accused of killing in Ukraine since their invasion on February 24.

The United Nations' Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights said on Sunday that it had recorded 1,417 civilian deaths and 2,038 civilian injuries in Ukraine since Russia invaded the eastern European country in February.

The agency said, however, that it "believes that the actual figures are considerably higher."

Russia has strongly denied evidence of civilian massacres in Ukraine, including recent evidence of mass graves holding nearly 300 bodies in the town of Bucha.

"The truth of what happened in Bucha will reveal itself," Nebenzya said at the press conference.

A tweet from the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sunday, meanwhile, said "All the photos and videos published by the Kiev regime in Bucha are just another provocation."