British Prime Minister Boris Johnson estimated on Wednesday that the civilian deaths in Bucha and elsewhere in Ukraine, attributed to the Russian army, “do not appear to be far from genocide.”
“When you guys look at what’s going on in Bucha, the revelations about what [el presidente ruso Vladimir] Putin does in Ukraine, it doesn’t seem far from genocide, in my opinion,” the conservative leader said.
The British government generally avoids using the term “genocide” as it is a qualification that justice must first determine.
“I have no doubt that the international community, and the UK at the forefront, will act together again to impose further sanctions and punitive measures against the regime of Vladimir Putin,” he added.
The United States is scheduled to adopt new sanctions against Russia on Wednesday, in coordination with the European Union (EU) and the G7.
These measures respond to the discovery over the weekend of dozens of civilian bodies in Bucha, at the gates of kyiv, after the withdrawal of Russian troops.
US President Joe Biden declared on Monday that he wanted to see “a trial for war crimes”, but considered that in principle it is not “a genocide”.
The UN describes genocide as “a crime committed with the intent to destroy, in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious group.”
