UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on Thursday described war as “evil” and absurd during a visit to Borodianka outside Kyiv, where Moscow’s troops are accused of killing civilians during their occupation.

“I imagine my family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black. I see my granddaughters running away in panic. The war is an absurdity in the 21st century. The war is evil. There is no way a war can be acceptable in the 21st century,” Guterres said.

The UN chief urged Russia to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC) on investigations into possible war crimes carried out during its invasion of Ukraine.

“I fully support the ICC and I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept, to cooperate with the ICC. But when we talk about war crimes, we cannot forget that the worst of crimes is war itself,” Guterres said during a visit to Bucha outside Kyiv, where hundreds of dead civilians were discovered after Russian troops pulled out.