Berlin Chancellor Olaf Scholz has called for the perpetrators and clients of the alleged Russian war crimes in Ukraine to be punished. At the same time, the SPD politician called on “Russia to finally agree to a ceasefire and to end hostilities.” Scholz was reacting to “terrible and horrifying footage” from the Kiev suburbs liberated by the Ukrainian army.
Images from Western news agencies show the deaths of hundreds of civilians there, many of whom fled on bicycles and in cars. Above all, in Bucha, 37 kilometers to the north-west, photographers found hastily dug up mass graves, some of which contained civilians whose hands were tied with ribbons behind their backs before they were shot. Among them are many women, old people and children. Shot dead civilians also lie on the streets of towns and villages recaptured by the Ukrainian army, at gas stations and next to killed livestock.
The Russian army had occupied numerous suburbs for days while advancing on Kyiv. Dozens of burned-out cars belonging to people who were apparently trying to escape from the Russian army were seen on the arterial roads from the suburbs. But burnt-out Russian tanks and other destroyed military equipment could also be seen in Bucha and other places around the capital.
Kiev Mayor Vitali Klitschko told the “Bild” newspaper: “What happened in Bucha and other suburbs of Kyiv can only be described as genocide.” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy also used the term in an interview with CNN .
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Demands for tougher sanctions against Moscow
“We must relentlessly investigate these crimes committed by the Russian military,” Scholz demanded. He demanded that international organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross be given access to the areas “to independently document the atrocities”. French President Emmanuel Macron spoke of “undeniable” Russian war crimes. EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen assured: “War criminals will be held accountable.”
The atrocities are increasing pressure on Western countries to tighten their sanctions on Russia. The Ukrainian Deputy Energy Minister Yaroslav Demchenkov called for “all payments for Russian oil and gas to be made to blocked accounts under UN administration,” he told the Handelsblatt.
This would mean that the Kremlin would no longer have access to these funds without the consent of the UN Security Council and would no longer be able to spend them on its army. Something similar happened in the past for Iraq after the invasion of Kuwait.
Most of the victims attempted to cross the Buchanka River to get into Ukrainian-controlled territory.
(Photo: dpa)
Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba on Sunday called for the world ports to be closed to Russian ships and goods and for all Russian banks to be decoupled from the international payment service provider Swift. According to Kuleba, Ukraine is demanding “devastating” punitive measures against Russia from the G7 countries.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) announced stricter sanctions against Russia, and Chancellor Olaf Scholz also promised that in the evening. Federal Defense Minister Christiane Lambrecht (SPD) announced that she would again examine a short-term halt to gas purchases in Russia.
SPD leader Lars Klingbeil called for a quick break with Russia: “The political break with Vladimir Putin and his regime has been there for a long time,” said Klingbeil on Sunday during a board meeting in Berlin. Now the economic break must “come very quickly”. The aim is to “quickly and consistently achieve” independence from gas, coal and oil from Russia. That will cause lasting financial and economic damage to Putin’s regime.
The USA and the EU, partly supported by Great Britain, Japan and Switzerland, have already imposed tough sanctions on Russia in several rounds. The EU now wants to quickly discuss even tougher sanctions.
In the middle of last week, Russia announced that it would end its military action in the direction of the capital, Kyiv. Instead, they want to focus on the south-east of Ukraine. Despite protestations from Moscow to the contrary, the announcement was taken in the West as an admission that Russia sees its goal of a quick conquest of Ukraine as a failure. According to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, the retreat of Russian troops near Kyiv is not yet a real retreat. It is more of a repositioning that could be followed by further attacks.
Russian attacks on Ukraine continue relentlessly, especially in eastern Ukraine and from the southern shore on the Black Sea. Apparently internationally banned cluster munitions were used in the city of Krivy Risch, where the Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy comes from. This is substantiated by photos taken by a local village mayor of found projectiles, which he published on Facebook. The use of such weapons is also considered a war crime. The Russian army had also used cluster munitions in its operations in Chechnya and Syria.
Reports of torture and rape
Meanwhile, residents of Melitopol, which was occupied by Russian troops, reported on social media channels that local Ukrainian mayors and other residents were being kidnapped. Torture of people who do not bow to the Russian occupation and targeted rapes are also repeatedly mentioned.
Dense black clouds lay over the city of Odessa, the most important Ukrainian port on the Black Sea, on Sunday. The Russian army had previously fired several rockets at Odessa, hitting an oil refinery and three oil depots near Odessa, according to their own statements. According to agency reports, the port of Mykolaiv was also attacked again. According to military experts, Russia is trying to gain control of Ukraine’s ports. This would cut off Ukraine from its export routes, especially for its large steel and agricultural companies, and thus from a large part of its revenues.
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