Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has urged the international community to bring Russia to trial for war crimes. He said she should be subject to an international criminal trial like the one held at Nuremberg in the followingmath of World War II.
In his speech to the UN Security Council, he listed a list of atrocities that he says were committed by Russian forces during their invasion of his country, stressing that “there is no crime that (the Russians) did not commit” in the city of Bucha.
Russia denies committing these atrocities, saying the evidence is fabricated.
Zelensky claimed that people were shot dead in the streets, in their homes, thrown into wells and crushed with tanks in the middle of the streets “just for the fun” of Russian soldiers.
He reiterated his claims that the Russians’ actions are similar to those of the Islamic State terrorist group, and that the propaganda war of Russian President Vladimir Putin seeks to “export” his hatred to other countries outside Ukraine.
Where, he asked, is the security that the Security Council should provide?
“Where is the peace? Where are the guarantees that the United Nations should provide?” he said.
He added that the world had not yet seen what other war crimes the Russian army might have committed in other parts of Ukraine, in addition to the alleged killings in Bucha.
“The geography may be different or diverse, but the brutality is the same, the crimes are the same, and accountability for them must be inevitable,” he said.
Zelensky told the UN Security Council that he was addressing him on behalf of the victims of Russia.
In his speech to the Council for the first time since the Russian invasion of Ukraine, he said that Russian forces had killed civilians and raped women, and accused Russia of committing the crime of genocide.
Zelensky’s comments came following his visit to Bucha on Monday, where the bodies of the dead Ukrainian civilians were seen.
horrific pictures
Zelensky had earlier warned that the worst atrocities committed by Russian forces while leaving the north of the country had yet to be discovered.
picture released, Getty Images
Bodies of dead Ukrainian civilians on the streets of Bucha
He said Borodianka may have suffered more than other cities.
The horrific images of dead bodies on the streets of cities like Bucha sparked shock and condemnation worldwide.
Russia denies killing civilians and says, without providing evidence, that Ukraine fabricated those scenes.
But the photos prompted US President Joe Biden to demand that his Russian counterpart, Vladimir Putin, be tried for war crimes.
Biden’s intervention comes following the publication of new satellite images taken by the Earth monitoring company “Maxar”, showing corpses covering the streets of Bucha during the period of its occupation by Russian forces.
The Ukrainian government launched a war crimes investigation following it said the bodies of 410 civilians had been found in areas around Kyiv.
Some of those bodies were discovered in mass graves while others were handcuffed and apparently shot at close range.
‘Russia is worse than the Islamic State’
Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmitro Kuleba told a news conference in Warsaw on Monday that the killings were “the tip of the iceberg” and demanded more harsh sanctions once morest Russia.
picture released, Getty Images
Biden calls for Putin to be prosecuted as a war criminal
In an interview with the BBC, the minister cited the tragic situation in the southern city of Mariupol, which has been under Russian bombardment for weeks.
“What we’ve seen in recent weeks is that Russia is much worse than the Islamic State when it comes to the atrocities and massacres it has committed,” he said.
In his nightly address to his people, the Ukrainian president said that the acts committed in the regions north of Kyiv had not been seen since the Nazi occupation.
“There is already information that the number of victims may be higher in Borodianka and some other liberated cities,” he said.
A number of Western countries expelled Russian diplomats in response to the discovery of the atrocities committed, and they negotiated among themselves regarding imposing new sanctions on Russia.
But the Russian ambassador to the Security Council said that Russia would present “practical evidence” to the UN Security Council to prove that Western statements regarding the Bucha events were lies.
picture released, Getty Images
Bodies of civilians found in a mass grave in Bucha
For his part, the mayor of the Ukrainian capital, Kyiv, Vitali Klitschko, called on European politicians to cut all trade ties with Moscow, saying that the money paid to Russia is covered in blood and helps finance its army.
“Every euro, every cent you receive or send to Russia has blood on it,” he said. “It’s bloody money and the blood on that money is Ukrainian blood. That is, the blood of the Ukrainian people.”
Klitschko also described the “Ukrainian genocide” following a visit to towns around Kiev such as Bucha this week.
He said that he saw dead civilians, including an elderly woman, and a car with a white flag and the word “children” on its exterior that had traces of gunfire and blood inside.
Klitschko was speaking by video link to a conference of mayors in Geneva.
Civilians trapped in Mariupol
The BBC’s Imogen Fox, quoting the mayor of Mariupol, said around 130,000 people were still stuck inside the besieged city.
The correspondent added that a team of the International Committee of the Red Cross was released following being detained by the police in the Ukrainian town of “Manhosh”, which is reported to be now under Russian control.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said their release was a “great relief”. The team has been trying for several days to reach the besieged city of Mariupol, to deliver aid and evacuate those who wish to leave.
It is reported that the team has now returned to the city of “Zporozhye”. It remains unclear if and when the team will continue its mission to reach Mariupol.
“The team is now focused on continuing the humanitarian evacuation,” the ICRC said.
“This incident that occurred yesterday shows the volatility and complexity of the process in order to facilitate safe passage around Mariupol for our team, which has been trying to reach the city since Friday,” she added.
On the other hand, the news agency “Interfax-Ukraine” reported that up to 165 children were killed in Ukraine since the beginning of the Russian invasion, citing the Ukrainian Prosecutor’s Office.
The agency also said 266 children were injured.
European sanctions
The European Union is expected to tighten sanctions once morest Russia – as punishment for the alleged killings of civilians in northern Ukraine.
The European Union is proposing additional sanctions once morest the Kremlin in light of Russia’s accusations of war crimes in Ukraine, and EU ambassadors are scheduled to meet on Wednesday to decide on the next steps.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has outlined proposals for new sanctions targeting the Russian economy.
In a statement, she accused Moscow of “waging a cruel and merciless war” and said its alleged atrocities in Ukraine “cannot and will not be left unanswered.”
The six suggested actions include:
1. Ban on importing coal from Russia
2. A blanket ban on dealings with four major banks – including the country’s second largest, VTB Bank
3. Ban on entry of Russian and Russian-operated ships to European ports
4. Additional bans on exports, targeting areas that weaken Russia, such as transportation equipment
5. A new ban on imports of products that include seafood, wines and wood
6. Impose additional targeted measures, including stopping financial support for Russian public entities
These plans need approval from the 27 member states of the European Union.
Previously, there were divisions within the European Union over the nature of action to be taken once morest Russia – with countries such as Germany dependent on imports of Russian fuel.
picture released, Getty Images
Putin demanded that gas purchases from Russia be paid in rubles
This is a summary of some of the measures previously imposed by Western countries in the wake of the invasion, in an effort to harm the Russian economy.
- The United States has banned all imports of Russian oil and gas, and the United Kingdom says it will get rid of Russian oil imports by the end of this year.
- The European Union has pledged to switch to alternative supplies and make Europe independent of Russian energy before 2030
targeting individuals
- The United States, the European Union, and the United Kingdom have collectively imposed sanctions on more than 1,000 Russian individuals and business entities deemed close to the Kremlin.
- Financial assets belonging to President Putin himself and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov have been frozen in a number of countries
- Western countries have also frozen the financial assets of the Russian Central Bank, to prevent it from using its $630 billion in foreign exchange reserves.
- It also prohibited the export of dual-use goods – that is, those used for civilian and military purposes, such as auto parts
In response to the sanctions, Putin told the “unfriendly” countries to pay for their imports of Russian gas in rubles, which would raise the value of the Russian currency.