Leaders demand that those responsible in Moscow be held accountable for the “atrocities” committed
The facts revealed in the Ukrainian city of Izium, in the Kharkov region, after the discovery of more than 440 graves and mass graves in a nearby forest a few days after being liberated by the Ukrainian troops, has provoked reactions of revulsion within the international community and especially in countries with democratic regimes and promoters of respect for Human Rights.
One of the first to react to the evidence of massacres and torture has been the US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken. “We have now seen the reports of this mass grave. Every time we see the Russian tide recede from the parts of Ukraine it has occupied, we see what it leaves in its wake. And this latest discovery of apparently 440 mass graves at Izium is a reminder of that,” Blinken told a news conference.
In his words, such acts “should be considered war crimes” and called for the greatest possible amount of evidence of “the atrocities they have committed.” The secretary of state stressed that such actions “would amount to war crimes, which I think is the appropriate framework through which to look at this.” “I think that’s the way to go, and that’s happening. I have spoken with people on the ground in Ukraine who are working on documenting evidence and building cases of war crimes and atrocities that have been committed,’ he added. Blinken visited Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky last week and visited the town of Irpin, on the outskirts of kyiv, also the scene of heavy fighting in March and where “thousands of corpses” of civilians were also found, the mayor said at the time. , who perished during the armed clashes and the bombings of the Russian Army.
His European counterpart, the High Representative for Foreign and Security Policy of the EU, Josep Borrell, has assured that the Old Continent is “deeply dismayed” by the news coming from Izium and, as he has stated, “firmly condemns these atrocities” . “Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine has left a trail of blood and destruction. Russia, its political leaders and all those involved in the ongoing violations of International and Humanitarian Law in Ukraine must be held accountable,” Borrell said in a statement.
For its part, the Czech Republic, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, requested this Saturday the formation of an international court to judge the “war crimes” committed in Ukraine by Russian forces. “In the 21st century, such attacks against the civilian population are unthinkable and hateful,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on Twitter. The diplomat spoke in favor of “all war criminals being punished” and called for “a special international court to be quickly created to punish the crime of aggression.”
“I strongly condemn the atrocities committed in Izium, in Ukraine, under Russian occupation,” French President Emmanuel Macron also said. “The perpetrators will be held responsible for their actions. There is no peace without justice », he stressed. The Canadian Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, has expressed himself on the same social network, denouncing that “reports on mass graves in Izium, in Ukraine, are horrible and heartbreaking. Canada condemns these heinous atrocities. We will continue to work with our partners to hold those who perpetrated them accountable and we will continue to be there to help the people of Ukraine.”
“Slaughter”
The Spanish Foreign Minister, José Manuel Albares, has also deplored what happened in Izium through a statement. “Spain firmly condemns the massacre discovered in the Izium mass grave, in Ukrainian territory from which Russian troops have recently withdrawn.” In his words, the facts must be investigated, since “the death of these people must not go unpunished.”
Dmitro Lubínets, Human Rights Commissioner of the Verkhovna Rada (Parliament) of Ukraine declared on Friday that “more than 1,000 people have been tortured and killed in the Russian-occupied areas in the Kharkov region,” according to the Russian agency Interfax. He advanced that “in the coming days, the exact number of bodies exhumed in the mass burials of Izium will be announced.”
Lubínets distributed a video this Saturday in which he appears against the background of a destroyed residential building in Izium and assured that 54 people perished there in a bombing, including an entire family: «the father born in 1988, his wife in 1991 , her little daughter in 2016 and her parents”, previously found in the graves thanks to the inscription on the wooden cross placed by acquaintances. “There are many, many cases like this,” he added.
On the other hand, the governor of Kharkov, Oleg Sinegúbov, maintained that 99% of the bodies exhumed in Izium “showed signs of violent death.” “There are several bodies with their hands tied behind their backs and one person was buried with a rope around his neck. Obviously, these people were tortured and executed. Among those buried there are also children,” Sinegúbov stressed on Telegram. Ukrainian media showed a photograph of one of the bodies with their wrists tied behind their waists.
Izium was captured by the Russian Army in early April and until its liberation a week ago it was used as one of the main supply bases for Russian troops on the Donbass front. This Saturday, the exhumation work at the site of the graves, as shown by the images broadcast by the Ukrainian media, has accelerated with the presence of numerous forensic personnel. It is about documenting the crimes perpetrated and trying to identify the bodies. The Ukrainian Police assures that 445 graves have been found, but some of them contained several corpses. According to the agents, quoted by various Telegram channels, “it is still not clear how these people died. Many appear to be civilians, including women and children.” There have also been reports of a mass grave with twenty Ukrainian military corps.
Topics
Emmanuel Macron, Josep Borrell Fontelles, Volodimir Zelenski, European Union (EU), Canada (Country), Spain, Europe, Czech Republic, Russia, Ukraine, War in Ukraine
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