The West describes the atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha as “war crimes” and the EU evaluates a new round of punitive measures on Monday
Apocalyptic images that generate shock and rage. Atrocities that Europe had not experienced in decades. The trail of lifeless bodies in the streets and the burials in mass graves of civilians in Bucha shake consciences and have triggered an international reaction of condemnation in which it is demanded to verify the “war crimes” committed by the invading troops in their withdrawal from the kyiv region. Russia “will answer for its crimes,” threatened President Emmanuel Macron, who had another frustrating telephone conversation with Vladimir Putin last week.
The French judged the massacre “unbearable”. And with him other European leaders such as the German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, who demanded that independent organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross have access to the regions affected by these excesses “to document them thoroughly.” “The guilty and those who ordered it must be held accountable accordingly.”
His Finance Minister, Christian Lindler, a key figure in the government coalition, took the step of convening the European allies today “to see how we can further tighten the sanctions against Vladimir Putin.” It would be the fifth punishment package since the Russian onslaught on February 24. And in that line it will work as a block. All partners agree that this will be a more or less immediate response. Rising sanctions in the making against the Kremlin. «Horror, pain and indignation at the terrible images that reach us from the Ukrainian town. The war crimes that are being committed cannot go unpunished,” President Pedro Sánchez tweeted.
“Professional Exhumation”
All European leaders agreed to support Ukraine “to document war crimes. All cases must be judged in the International Criminal Court”, stated the High Representative for Foreign Affairs of the EU, Josep Borrell. In this sense, the human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked local officials for a “professional exhumation” in Bucha, precisely to facilitate this investigation. The entity’s special adviser, Fred Abrahams, said that being “understandable” that “families and authorities want to bury them quickly” “evidence could be destroyed.”
From the United Kingdom, its Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, described “Russia’s despicable attacks against innocent civilians in Irpin and Bucha, on the outskirts of kyiv” as “further proof that Putin and his Army are committing war crimes” . I will do everything in my power to starve your war machine. We are intensifying our sanctions and military support, as well as reinforcing our humanitarian support package,” he reflected in a statement.
“It is a brutality against civilians that we have not seen in Europe for decades; it is horrible and absolutely unacceptable, ”said the Secretary General of NATO, Jens Stoltenberg, to the North American television network CNN.
“You can’t help but see these images as a punch in the stomach,” said the head of US diplomacy,_Antony Blinken, who warned that “this will be the daily reality as long as Russia’s brutality on Ukraine continues,” he added. The UN Secretary General, a “deeply shocked” Antonio Guterres, called for an “independent investigation” for “effective accountability.”
Russian missiles destroy a refinery in Odessa
High-precision land and sea missiles destroyed a refinery and three fuel and lubricant depots in an industrial area of the strategic city of Odessa, Ukraine’s main port on the Black Sea, early this Sunday morning, as announced by the Russian Ministry of Defense in Moscow, which indicated that the facilities served to supply fuel to the Ukrainian forces.
The attack, which according to various sources did not cause any casualties, was recognized by an officer of the Southern Ukraine regional command, Vladislav Nazarov, who pointed out that “the Odessa region is one of the priority objectives of the enemy, which continues its perfidious practice of attacking sensitive infrastructures. Likewise, Anton Herashchenko, adviser to the Ukrainian Minister of the Interior, wrote on Telegram: “Odessa was attacked by air. Fires are observed in certain areas. Some of the missiles were shot down by air defense.”
The entire eastern coast of the Crimean peninsula, annexed by Russia in 2014, up to the pro-Russian separatist regions of Donetsk and Lugansk, is occupied by Russian forces, with the exception of some areas of Mariupol, where they face resistance from the Ukrainian army. .
The one in Odessa was not the only refinery attacked by Russia, which also launched several missiles against the one in Kremenchuk, in the Poltava region, located in central Ukraine.
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