A leading rights group said it had documented “apparent war crimes” committed by Russian military forces against civilians in Ukraine.

Human Rights Watch issued a statement saying it had found “several cases of Russian military forces committing laws-of-war violations” in Russian-controlled regions such as Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Kyiv.

The statement, published in Warsaw, came one day after dead civilians were found lying scattered through the streets of the Ukrainian country town of Bucha near Kyiv, three days after the Russian army pulled back from a month-long occupation.

Russia’s defense ministry denied on Sunday that its forces had killed civilians in Bucha. It said in a statement that all Russian units had left the town on March 30, and that footage and photographs showing dead bodies were “yet another provocation”.

It continued: “During the time that Russian armed forces were in control of this settlement, not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions”.