Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy will address the UN Security Council today, Tuesday, April 5, 2022, where he is expected to demand new tougher sanctions on Moscow over killings in the town of Bucha.
Mr. Zelenskyy has by far, described the incident as “war crimes” and “genocide”.
The speech, being Mr. Zelenskyy’s first to the Body since Russia’s invasion, comes after he made a trip to Bucha outside the capital, where dozens of bodies were discovered after the withdrawal of Russian troops. Images of corpses lying on the streets, some with their hands bound behind them, drew international condemnation of Russia. But Russia has denied responsibility and suggested the images are fake or that the deaths occurred after Russian forces pulled out of the area.
This notwithstanding, newly released satellite photographs taken by Maxar Technologies ahead of Russia’s withdrawal from Bucha, showed what appeared to be bodies in some of the same places they were later found by Ukrainian troops and journalists.
On Monday, April 4, 2022, reports suggested that while in body armour, Mr. Zelenskyy spent half an hour in Bucha, where he blamed Russian troops for the killings.
“These are war crimes and it will be recognised by the world as genocide.”
Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy
Later in a late-night address, Mr. Zelensky demanded that “the sanctions response to Russia’s massacre of civilians must finally be powerful. But… did hundreds of our people have to die in agony for some European leaders to finally understand that the Russian state deserves the most severe pressure?” Mr. Zelelnskyy asked in a video posted on Telegram. He also called for additional weapons from Western allies, saying more equipment could have saved thousands. “I do not blame you, I blame only the Russian military,” he said. “But you could have helped.”
More sanctions to come
Ukraine’s allies have called the killings in Bucha war crimes, with the European Union (EU) offering to send investigators to gather evidence.
“(Russian President Vladimir Putin) is a war criminal,” US President Biden told reporters at the White House. “What’s happening to Bucha is outrageous and everyone’s seen it.” The White House said it would announce fresh sanctions on Moscow “this week” with France suggesting new measures could target Russian oil and coal exports.
But Germany warned it was too soon to cut off Russian gas.“We have to cut all economic relationship to Russia, but at the moment, it’s not possible to cut the gas supplies. We need some time,” German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner disclosed.
Elsewhere, the United States and Britain are planning to seek Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council, a move Moscow branded “unbelievable”. Russia has called for a UN Security Council meeting on what it dubbed the “heinous provocation of Ukrainian radicals in Bucha”, but Britain, which holds the Council’s presidency, has so far refused the request.
More horrors emerge
The full nature of the killings in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have withdrawn is still being pieced together.
On Monday, April 4, 2022, the bodies of five men were found in a children’s sanatorium basement in Bucha. The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office disclosed that the victims were unarmed civilians, who were bound, beaten and killed by Russian troops. In Motyzhyn, West of Kyiv, Ukrainian Police showed reporters the bodies of five civilians with their hands tied, including those of the village’s Mayor, her husband and son.
Ukrainian officials said over 400 civilian bodies have by far, been recovered from the Kyiv Region, many of whom have been laid to rest in mass graves. However, Zelenskyy warned that the deaths in Bucha could be only the tip of the iceberg, outdooring information that even more people were killed in places like nearby Borodianka.
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