The President of the European Council, Charles Michelhas promised new sanctions from the European Union after accusing the Russian Army of committing “atrocities” in the Ukrainian city of bushingnorth of kyiv and recently liberated, in which Ukraine has denounced that a mass grave with 57 dead civilians has been found.
“Dismayed by the appalling images of the atrocities committed by the Russian Army in the liberated region of kyiv,” Michel said in a message on Twitter, accompanied by the label “Massacre in Bucha”.
Michel has promised the Ukrainian government and NGOs the beginning of a “compilation of the evidence necessary to pursue the case in international courts” before promising that “new EU sanctions and further support are on the way”.
For now, the German Finance Minister and key member of the government coalition, Christian Lindner, has announced that will convene its European allies this Monday to discuss a tightening of sanctions against Russia after denouncing “war crimes” committed by Russian troops in areas near kyiv, from which they have withdrawn in recent hours, starting with the city of Bucha.
“Starting tomorrow (Monday) we will discuss with our partners how we can further tighten sanctions against Russian President Vladimir Putin,” Lindner tweeted. “Bucha’s images demonstrate the criminal nature of the war against Ukraine. It is unbearable“, has added.
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock have joined Lindner in his condemnation and confirmed the call. “This terrible war crime cannot go unanswered“Habeck told the ‘Bild’ newspaper.
For his part, the German Foreign Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has also condemned “in the strongest terms such acts which constitute, if confirmed, war crimes“.
“We will work, together with our partners, the Ukrainian authorities and competent international jurisdictions, in particular the International Criminal Court, to ensure that these acts do not go unpunished and that those responsible are tried and convicted,” he said in a statement.
In the field of sanctions, the French Foreign Minister has opted for “maintaining and reinforcing economic and international pressure on Russia” to “force the Russian authorities to end the aggressive war launched on February 24 against Ukraine and whose human price and humanitarian impact is higher every day”.
This Sunday, Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba accused Russian forces of orchestrating a “massacre” in Bucha and called on the G7 to issue a series of “devastating new sanctions” against Moscow, immediately.
“The Bucha massacre was deliberate. The goal of the Russians is to eliminate as many Ukrainians as they can. We have to stop them and kick them out, “he declared through his Twitter account.
“I demand new and devastating sanctions from the G7 now,” added the minister.before proposing an embargo on Russian oil, gas, and coal, the closure of ports to all Russian ships and goods, and the disconnection of all Russian ships from the SWIFT financial exchange mechanism.
One of the advisers to the Ukrainian Presidency, Mikhailo Podoliak, had accused Russia this Saturday of handcuffing and murdering civilians that the Ukrainian troops have found lifeless after recovering the city, northwest of kyiv.
“The bodies of people with their hands tied, who have been shot dead by Russian soldiers, lay in the streets. These people were not in the Army. They had no weapons. They posed no threat. How many more cases are happening right now in the occupied territories?” Podoliak has expressed on his Twitter account.
Podoliak has shared an image showing several bodies on the ground, one of them with his hands visibly tied behind his back.
Russia denies it
In this way, The Russian Ministry of Defense has denied this Sunday that its forces have committed war crimes during his occupation of the city of Bucha, near the capital, kyiv.
In a statement collected by TASS, the Ministry assures that, during the time that Bucha was under the control of the Russian Armed Forces, “not a single local resident suffered violent actions.”
The Ministry assures that “all Russian units completely abandoned Bucha on March 30“after several days of shelling by Ukrainian forces. Likewise, Moscow recalls that, one day after the withdrawal, the mayor of Bucha “confirmed that there were no Russian soldiers in the city without ever mentioning the existence of residents riddled with bullets in the streets” .