The President of the European Council, Charles Michel, promised new sanctions from the European Union after accusing the Russian Army of committing “atrocities” in the recently liberated Ukrainian city of Bucha, north of Kyiv.
“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 assured the Ukrainian government and NGOs of the beginning of a “gathering of the necessary evidence to pursue the case in international courts” before promising that “new EU sanctions and more support are already on the way.”
At the moment, the German Finance Minister and key member of the government coalition, Christian Lindner, announced that he will convene his European allies on Monday to discuss a tightening of sanctions against Russia after denouncing “war crimes” committed by Russian troops. in the areas close to Kyiv, from which they have withdrawn in recent hours, starting with the city of Bucha.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’s unbearable », she added.
German Vice Chancellor Robert Habeck and Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock 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, also condemned “in the strongest terms such acts that constitute, if confirmed, war crimes.”
“We will work, together with our partners, the Ukrainian authorities and the 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 detailed in a statement.
In the field of sanctions, the French Foreign Minister opted for “maintaining and reinforcing economic and international pressure on Russia” to “force the Russian authorities to end the war of aggression that they 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,” the minister added, 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 of the SWIFT financial exchange mechanism.
One of the advisers to the Presidency of Ukraine, Mijailo Podoliak, had accused Russia this Saturday of handcuffing and murdering civilians that Ukrainian troops found dead after retaking the city, northwest of Kyiv.
“The bodies of people with their hands tied, who have been shot dead by Russian soldiers, were lying 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 said in his twitter account.
Podoliak shared an image showing several bodies on the ground, one of them with his hands visibly tied behind his back..
Bucha, Kyiv region. The bodies of people with tied hands, who were shot dead by ?? soldiers lie in the streets. These people were not in the military. They had no weapons. They pose no threat. How many more such cases are happening right now in the occupied territories? (1/2) pic.twitter.com/AJloZ81JIt
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) April 2, 2022
?? is waging a war to destroy the ?? nation. But we do not ask for sympathy. We do not ask for likes. And we are definitely not asking to fight with Russia for us. We ask only one thing: give us weapons so that we can protect civilians. Everything else we will do ourselves.(2/2)
— Михайло Подоляк (@Podolyak_M) April 2, 2022
