Commenting on CNN images of people killed on the streets in Bucha and discovered after the withdrawal of Russian troops, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said it was a “blow to the stomach”, writes Reuters.
US Secretary of State Antony BlinkenPhoto: Susan Walsh / AFP / Profimedia
- “It’s the reality of what happens every day, as long as Russia’s brutality against Ukraine continues,” the U.S. foreign minister said.
He reiterated that the United States would help “document” possible “war crimes” so that the culprits “be held accountable.”
Stoltenberg denounces “horrible” and “absolutely unacceptable” acts against civilians
The crimes against civilians blamed on the Russian army in Bucha are “horrible”, NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said on Sunday, speaking of “an unprecedented brutality in Europe in recent decades”.
- “It is absolutely unacceptable for civilians to be targeted and killed. This highlights the importance of ending the war,” he told CNN.
Asked about the departure of Russian troops from the Kyiv region, the NATO chief was cautious: “We must not be very optimistic. We are afraid of a potential increase in attacks, especially in the south and east.”
Pictures of Bucha, a city recaptured this week by Ukrainian forces, show the bodies of civilians scattered on the streets, and some of the people appear to have been handcuffed before being shot.
On Sunday, the head of the rescue services Serhii Kaplychny said that the bodies of 57 people were found in a mass grave in Bucha, writes AFP.
About 10 bodies were visible, some only partially buried. “There are 57 people buried here in this long grave,” said Kaplychnyi, who organized the recovery of the bodies.
The discovery of the common grave with the 57 bodies comes after hundreds of bodies were found scattered on the streets of Bucha on Saturday.
Mayor Anatoly Fedoruk said nearly 300 people had to be buried “in mass graves” in Bucha.
“In Bucha, we have already buried 280 people in mass graves,” because it is impossible to do so in the three cemeteries of the municipality, under Russian military gunfire, the mayor told AFP by telephone.
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