"Blood chilling" images are coming to light from the city of Boutsa, Ukraine, where Russia has killed over 400 civilians.
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zhelensky, who made a new announcement overnight, the UN Security Council will discuss tomorrow (Tuesday) "war crimes committed in Butch and other occupied towns" in his country, where hundreds of civilians were shot. He called for those responsible to be "found and punished."
The US company Maxar, which since the beginning of the war in Ukraine has been providing important satellite images of the battlefields, has now published photos over Butchnya. These show a trench about 14 metres long, in the area surrounding a church, i.e. where a mass grave has been identified.
[BR]
Maxar Technologies, which collects and publishes satellite imagery from Ukraine, noted that the first signs of excavation for a mass grave at the Church of St. Andrew and Piervozvanoho of All Saints became visible on March 10.
"More recent footage taken on March 31 shows the (mass) grave, with a trench about 14 meters long, in the southwestern part of the area near the church," Maxar said."
"The images are a punch to the stomach," U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said."
"The images are a punch to the stomach," U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken said. "This is the reality of what is happening every day as Russia's brutality against Ukraine continues. That's why it has to stop," he said, promising that the US would help document "war crimes to hold those responsible accountable."ukraine_sfagi_bucha_art2
Russia's atrocities in the town of Bucha
Gruesome images of hundreds of dead civilians in the town of Bucha just outside Kiev, have shocked world opinion and provoked a major wave of condemnation of Russia, whose military forces have been accused of committing atrocities and barbarities during their withdrawal from the region.
Moscow denies the accusations and calls them provocation, but the Ukrainian president has spoken of genocide, the West has warned of new sanctions and UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has announced an independent investigation into the events.
Ukrainian prosecutors said 410 bodies had been found in Butch and other towns around Kiev and are investigating possible war crimes by Russia.
Shocked by the images of dead civilians, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said he was shocked by the images and called for an "independent investigation, which must lead to the accountability of those responsible."
The UN's High Commissioner for Human Rights also spoke of "serious questions" and the "possible commission of war crimes."
[BR]
According to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who made a new announcement overnight, the UN Security Council will discuss tomorrow, Tuesday, "war crimes committed in Butch and other occupied cities" in his country, where hundreds of civilians were shot. He called for those responsible to be "found and punished."
Zelenski: Genocide, they are butchers
The Ukrainian president blamed the West for the "concessions" its leaders made to Russia over 14 years and even called on Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy (former president of France) to go to Butch to see where their choices have led. Zelensky also said that the new sanctions package against Russia was not enough.
Earlier on Sunday afternoon, his initial reaction to the atrocities in Butza was also angry. He accused Russia of genocide and made a social media post addressing Moscow. "The mothers of Russian soldiers need to see this. See what ba you have grown up with. Murderers, looters, butchers," he wrote, quoting photos of the horror in Butchery.
"When we find people with their hands tied behind their backs and beheaded ... I don't know what law or prison sentence would be sufficient for this," Zelenski said, adding emphatically that "all military commanders, whoever gives instructions and orders, must be adequately punished."
bucha_2
NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg said the deaths were "a brutality against civilians that we have not seen in Europe for decades. It is absolutely unacceptable that civilians are being targeted and killed and it underscores how important it is to end this war."
"The images are a punch to the gut," said U.S. Secretary of State Anthony Blinken. "This is the reality of what is happening every day as Russia's brutality against Ukraine continues. That is why it must stop," he said, promising that the US would help document "war crimes to hold those responsible accountable."
Condemnation and towards new sanctions
Europeans express their disgust at the massacre, warning of new sanctions against Moscow.
"The killing of civilians is a war crime," German Chancellor Olaf Scholz said, calling for "further measures against President Putin and his supporters in coordination with the allies" and warning the Kremlin and its supporters "will feel the consequences of their actions." He also made it clear that Germany would continue to provide weapons to Ukraine so that the country could defend itself against a Russian invasion.
Germany's Foreign Minister Annalena Berbock had earlier spoken of "war crimes" for which Russia must pay, and advocated for tougher sanctions against Moscow.
Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi called on Russia to immediately stop hostilities and violence against civilians, warning those responsible would be held accountable for what happened. He stressed that "the images of the crimes committed in the town of Butza and in the other liberated areas leave us stunned. The barbarity of the mass killings of civilians is horrifying and unacceptable."
Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis expressed his disgust and said that "the perpetrators must be held accountable. Greece stands by Ukraine," he said.
Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that "the perpetrators of war crimes will be held accountable" and referred to "unspeakable horrors in areas from which Russia is withdrawing".
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson spoke of "war crimes," referring to attacks on civilians in the towns of Butch and Irpin, and assured that his government would step up sanctions against Russia while increasing its military aid to Ukraine.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Ledrian accused Russia of "mass atrocities," noting that such actions could be classified as war crimes.
The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Metsola, spoke of "atrocities committed by the Russian army in Butchnya and other liberated areas... the perpetrators must be brought to justice and tougher sanctions must be imposed on Russia."
Moscow's response
The Kremlin, however, insists on rejecting the charges, calling it a "staged show, as with the maternity hospital in Mariupol and other cities." It even claims, among other things, that "the dead in the images released by Ukraine do not have rigor mortis, nor is blood visible in their wounds."
The Russian Defence Ministry claims that the videos and photos showing dead bodies are "another provocation" and clarifies in a statement that all Russian military units had left the town of Butchnya on 30 March. It further adds that "on 31 March, the mayor of Butza, Anatoly Fedoruk, confirmed in his videotaped message that there were no Russian soldiers in the town but did not even mention that locals had been shot in the streets with their hands tied. Therefore, it is not surprising that all the so-called evidence of crimes in Bucha appeared only on the fourth day, when SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) officers and Ukrainian TV representatives arrived in the town."
Source: protothema.gr
Contents of this article including associated images are belongs to Cyprus Times
Views & opinions expressed are those of the author and/or Cyprus Times
Source
