© KEYSTONE / EPA / MAXAR TECHNOLOGIES HANDOUT
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky speaks before the UN Security Council on Tuesday, following the shock wave caused in the world by the discovery of numerous corpses in the liberated Ukrainian city of Bucha, where kyiv accuses the Russians of massacre .
Denying any responsibility, Moscow for its part accused the Ukrainian authorities of preparing “stagings” of civilians killed in several cities to condemn Russia.
Mr Zelensky, who has denounced “war crimes” and “genocide” following the discovery of dozens of corpses wearing civilian clothes in Boutcha and other localities near the Ukrainian capital, will intervene before the Council of security for the first time since the invasion of his country, indicated the United Kingdom, which currently chairs this body of the United Nations.
Russia protested for its part once morest what it presented as London’s refusal to convene the Security Council at its request, for a meeting on the situation in Boutcha, according to the Tass agency.
In a video broadcast on the night of Monday to Tuesday, Mr. Zelensky confirmed that he would intervene by video before the Council, without it being known whether his speech will be live or delayed.
One day “every Russian will learn the whole truth regarding [ceux de ses] compatriots [qui ont] kill [ou ont] gave the orders,” he said in the video, calling for tougher sanctions on Moscow and more arms for his country.
“Women raped, children killed”
In the theater of military operations, several bombings hit Kramatorsk overnight from Monday to Tuesday, a large city controlled by kyiv in eastern Ukraine under the threat of an offensive by Russian troops.
According to an AFP journalist, these shots, probably from missiles or long-range rockets, notably destroyed a school in the city center, next to a police building. No official report has been communicated following these strikes.
In Geneva, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) announced the release, overnight, of one of its teams detained since Monday by the police in an area controlled by Russian troops near Mariupol, a city besieged since Several weeks.
The team “is now concentrating on the continuation of humanitarian evacuation operations,” said the ICRC, for whom this incident “shows the volatility and complexity” of this operation.
Monday, wearing a bulletproof vest, Mr. Zelensky went to Boutcha where dozens of corpses were found in this small town located regarding thirty kilometers northwest of kyiv, following the withdrawal of Russian forces.
“You are here and you can see what happened. We know that thousands of people were killed and tortured, had their limbs torn, women were raped and children killed,” he said. declared during an improvised press briefing.
“Information Warfare”
Russia denied any responsibility, assuring Monday that it was going to present “documents” showing, according to it, the “true nature” of the events which took place in Boutcha.
“All of a sudden (these bodies) appear in the streets, lying on the ground, one by one, who to the right, who to the left, some moving, others showing signs of life”, affirmed the Russian ambassador to the Nations united, Vassily Nebenzia, denouncing a staging “arranged by the Ukrainian information war machine”.
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Russian Defense Ministry accused Ukrainian “special services” of having “filmed, on the evening of April 4, a new filmed scene of civilians allegedly killed by violent actions of the army Russian in the village of Moschchun, 23 km northwest of kyiv”.
“Similar events are being organized by [ces services] in Sumy (northeast), Konotop (northeast) and other cities,” he added.
Satellite images of the city released Monday by the American company Maxar Technologies, however, appear to refute Russian claims that the bodies of people in civilian clothes found in Boutcha were placed there following Russian troops evacuated the area.
These “high resolution images (…) corroborate recent videos and photos on social networks revealing the presence of bodies lying in the streets (of Boutcha) and abandoned for several weeks”, indicated Maxar Technologies in a press release.
On Saturday, AFP saw in Boutcha the bodies of at least 22 people wearing civilian clothes in the streets of the city. One of them was lying near a bicycle and another had shopping bags next to her. A corpse had its hands tied behind its back.
“Mass graves”
In the liberated city, a resident told AFP that she had seen “in front of [ses] eyes” of members of the Russian forces shooting “at a man who was going to get food from the supermarket”.
According to the mayor of Bucha, Anatoly Fedorouk, 280 people had to be buried by Ukrainians in recent days in “mass graves” in Bucha, with the number of corpses accumulating.
These gruesome discoveries have sparked outrage from Ukraine’s Western allies who have promised new sanctions “this week” once morest Russia.
According to a European official, the 27 countries of the EU are discussing sanctions on imports of Russian coal and oil.
“He must be held to account,” US President Joe Biden said on Monday of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin, repeating that he considered him a “war criminal”.
Beijing, which has repeatedly refused to condemn Moscow for invading Ukraine, on Tuesday reiterated its call for peace talks to resolve the conflict.
The EU announced that European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and EU Foreign Minister Josep Borrell would travel “this week” to kyiv to meet Mr. Zelensky.
On Monday, Ms. von der Leyen announced the establishment by the EU of a team “joint with Ukraine to (…) investigate war crimes and crimes once morest humanity”.
The United States wants to try to get Russia suspended from the UN Human Rights Council this week. Russia reacted by describing this step as “incredible” and judging that it would not facilitate “peace talks” between Russians and Ukrainians.
After the Russian withdrawal around kyiv, Ukraine is now preparing for a “massive attack” in the Lugansk region in eastern Ukraine, its governor, Serguiï Gaïdaï, announced on Monday.
Around 30,000 more people fled Ukraine in 24 hours, according to data from the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Geneva on Tuesday. They are more than 4.2 million since the beginning of the war.