War in Ukraine: International anger over the killing of civilians in Bucha is growing
Written byTimes Magazine
US President Joe Biden has urged Russian President Vladimir Putin to stand trial for war crimes as evidence emerges of alleged atrocities committed by Russian troops in Ukraine.
International outrage is rising over the alleged killing of civilians in Bucha, a town near the capital Kyiv. The United States said it supported an international team of prosecutors who traveled to Bucha to gather evidence.
Without evidence, Russia says Ukraine staged the images of atrocities.
The Ukrainian government has launched a war crimes investigation after announcing that 410 bodies of civilians had been found in the area around Kyiv. Some were found in mass graves, while others were handcuffed and shot at close range.
Authorities in Kyiv also accused Russian troops of killing the village head, husband, and son in the village of Motoyzhin for assisting Ukrainian forces in the region.
"This man is brutal," Biden told the Russian president, adding that he wanted more sanctions against the Kremlin.
"You saw what happened in Bucha - he's a war criminal... but we need to piece together all the details to be a war crimes trial," he added.
The US State Department tell it had credible reports of rape, torture, and executions by Russian troops as part of Moscow's "wider and worrying campaign." At the request of Ukraine, the international prosecutor will assist the Prosecutor General of the War Crimes Department of Ukraine.
"There are reports and images of a horrific series of atrocities," State Department spokesman Ned Price said. The Pentagon said it was "obvious" that Russia was behind Bucha's atrocities, but further investigation was needed to determine which part was responsible.
International anger over the slaying of civilians in Bucha is growing
Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky visited Bucha and accused Moscow of genocide and war crimes. France and Germany expelled Russian diplomats in response to the revelations in Bucha.
German Foreign Minister Analena Burbock said the expulsion of 40 envoys responded to the Kremlin's "tremendous brutality" in Ukraine. The French government said it would fire "many" Russian officials without giving an exact number.
Lithuania has announced it will expel the Russian ambassador about atrocities said by Russian troops in Ukraine. Moscow's ambassador to the United Nations said Russia would provide "empirical evidence" to the UN Security Council showing Western statements about the Bucha incident were lies.
Vasily Nebenzia accused Ukraine and its "Western sponsors" of falsifying evidence and launching false flag attacks against their people at a press conference in New York.
In Bucha, eyewitnesses described how Russian soldiers shot those who fled after refusing to let them out of the humanitarian corridor. At least 20 dead people were found lying on the road, many with serious injuries. Some were shot through the temple as if executed; others appeared to be run over by tanks.
Satellite images taken by Maxar show a 14-meter-long mass grave in the town near St. Church. Mary. Andrew and All Saints First-Called.
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