Biden denounces Bucha killings as 'major war crimes'

US President Joe Biden on Wednesday denounced the widespread killing of Ukrainian civilians in the town of Bucha allegedly by Russian troops as 'war crimes'.

"I'm sure you've seen the pictures from Bucha, just outside of Kyiv: bodies left in the streets as Russian troops withdrew, some shot in the back of the head with their hands tied behind their backs," Biden said at a labour union event.

"Civilians executed in cold blood, bodies dumped into mass graves, the sense of brutality and inhumanity left for all the world to see, unapologetically.

"There's nothing less happening than major war crimes," he said.

"Responsible nations have to come together to hold these perpetrators accountable," he said.

Biden made the remarks as global outrage has surged after photos of numerous bodies lying in the streets of Bucha and dumped into mass graves circulated around the world.

US Attorney General Merrick Garland said the Justice Department was assisting international efforts to "identify and hold accountable those responsible for atrocities in Ukraine."

He said the Justice Department's chief war crimes prosecutor was meeting with his French counterpart, and that criminal division prosecutors have met with Europol.

“We're in the collection-of-evidence stage and that's what we're doing,” Garland said. “We're helping our European partners and our Ukrainian partners.”

• Europe