The images and stories of the horrors committed by Russian soldiers against civilians in Bucha , a Ukrainian city in the Kiev region, continue to arouse international outrage.
In these hours, while France and Germany have decided to expel numerous Russian diplomats and while the European Union is studying new sanctions in Moscow, Ursula Von der Leyen, president of the EU Commission, announced that Brussels and Kiev will create an investigative team to investigate what happened. Even the US considers what happened in Bucha a "war crime", with President Joe Biden evoking the trial for Russia and with the confirmation, by the spokesman of the US State Department, Ned Price, that some prosecutors American are working together to shed light on what happened. Price himself explained: "We are receiving credible reports of torture, rape and executions of civilians with their families."
According to the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Kuleba, the massacres in Bucha would however only be the tip of the iceberg, so much so that in the city of Mariupol the crimes of the Moscow troops would have been even "worse", while for President Zelenski - who visited precisely the Bucha area - Russian soldiers "have now turned into butchers".
Moscow, for its part, sends the accusations back to the sender. Zakharova, spokesman for the Russian foreign ministry, reiterated the Kremlin's position, according to which the massacre is in reality only an attempt by Kiev to "stop the peace talks and intensify the violence". A "provocation staged by the Ukrainian army and radical nationalists". For the Russians their armed forces had left Bucha on March 30, while "evidence of the crimes" emerged only 4 days later. The ministry also pointed out that on March 31 the mayor had confirmed that there were no Moscow troops in Bucha. Zakharova herself has replies to the US accusations: "The war crimes trials should begin with the bombs dropped in Yugoslavia and Iraq".
As for the fighting, the Russian armed forces have in recent hours intensified the offensive in the south of the country with raids aimed at targeting oil deposits in Odessa and on the port of Mykolaiv; in the northern part, the conflict seems to have crystallized. In the rest of the country the attacks are systematic but less intense.
After withdrawing from the Kiev region, the Russian military reportedly also left the Zhytomyr region of western Ukraine freed from Ukrainian military resistance.
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LIVE FROM HOUR TO HOUR:
War crimes, US prosecutors collaborate with Kiev
American prosecutors are in the region to collaborate with the Ukrainian Attorney General "in order to put Russia before the responsibilities of" war crimes committed "in Ukraine, said the spokesman for the US State Department, Ned Price.
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Russian diplomats away from France
France has decided to expel "numerous" Russian diplomats whose activities are considered "contrary to its interests". This was announced by the French foreign ministry.
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Lavrov: "Biden does not have a clear conscience"
"These politicians don't have a clear conscience." Thus Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov responded to the words of US President Joe Biden who called Russian President Vladimir Putin "a war criminal". This was reported by the Interfax agency.
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Kuleba: "In Mariupol horrors worse than Bucha"
The brutality attributed to the Russian forces in Bucha, on the outskirts of Kiev, are only "the tip of the iceberg", in Mariupol the situation is even "worse". This was stated by the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba, in a joint press point with his British colleague Liz Truss, met in Warsaw together with the head of Polish diplomacy, Zbigniew Rau.
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Out of the Russians from Zhytomyr
The Zhytomyr region in western Ukraine was liberated by Russian troops. This was announced by the head of the regional military administration Vitaly Bunechko.
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40 Russian diplomats expelled from Germany
The German government has decided to declare 40 Russian diplomats "people not grateful". This was announced today by Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. "These are people who have worked here in Germany every day against our freedom and against the cohesion of our society," said the Dpa. "We won't tolerate this any longer." The decision was communicated to Russian Ambassador Sergei Nethayev on Monday afternoon.
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Massacre in Myloaiv
Dead and wounded in the city of Mykolaiv after the Russian attack with cluster bombs on residential buildings in the city. The Kyiv Independent reports it.
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Moscow: “War crimes trial? Let's start with Iraq "
If the Americans want to investigate war crimes, "let them begin with the bombing of Yugoslavia and the occupation of Iraq." This was stated by the spokeswoman of the Russian Foreign Ministry, Maria Zakharova, commenting on the proposal of US President Joe Biden to create a court for war crimes of the Russians in Ukraine. "As soon as they finish, they can move on to nuclear bombing Japan," Zakharova added, quoted by Interfax.
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The Russians towards Kharkiv
Russian forces are preparing to take Kharkiv. This was stated by the spokesman for the Ukrainian Defense Ministry Oleksandr Motuzyanyk quoted by UNIAN. "The main efforts of the enemy have focused on preparing for the resumption of offensive operations to encircle the Ukrainian forces and take over the city of Kharkiv," Motuzyanyk said, explaining that "the enemy is strengthening the troops of the western and southern military districts in the districts. operating from Slobozhansky and Donetsk. It is doing this both by transferring troops from other military districts and by involving reserve units ".
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Over 7,000 war crimes since February 24th
More than 7,000 war crimes have been recorded since the start of the Russian invasion of Ukraine. This was announced by the attorney general Irina Venediktova, reports Ukrinform. The investigation teams are made up of representatives of the National Police and the Security Service of the State Investigation Bureau, the prosecutor said, explaining that, in addition, "we have a warcrime.gov.ua portal where all citizens can provide their information on war crimes. There are now more than 7,000. "
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Biden: "War crimes in Bucha"
"We must continue to provide Ukraine with the weapons it needs." Joe Biden said this when talking about the horrors of Bucha. The American president said that "we need to reconstruct all the details of what happened and hold a trial for war crimes" against Russia.
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Berlin: "For now impossible to stop with Russian gas"
"We want to become independent of energy imports from Russia as soon as possible and Germany will support further sanctions on Russia, but at the moment it is not possible to cut gas supplies." The German Finance Minister, Christian Lindner, said this on his arrival at the Eurogroup. "We need to put more pressure on Putin, isolate Russia and cut off all economic relations" but to reach an embargo "we need time, at the moment we have to distinguish between oil, coal and gas," he explained.
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EU and Kiev: "A team to investigate Bucha"
The EU has set up an investigative team with Ukraine to collect evidence on war crimes and crimes against humanity. The EU is ready to step up its efforts by sending field investigation teams to support the Ukrainian prosecutor's office. Eurojust and Europol are ready to help ". This was stated by the president of the EU Commission Ursula von der Leyen who today had a telephone conversation with Volodymyr Zelensky about the Bucha massacre." The harrowing images seen cannot and will not be left without answers. Who committed these heinous crimes
they will not go unpunished ", he adds.
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Johnson: "Indiscriminate massacres in Bucha"
Bucha's images in Ukraine are "repulsive" and show "an indiscriminate and unforgivable slaughter". British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said this today, pointing the finger at Russia again. Johnson then reiterated that the UK intends to "work to ensure that those responsible are held accountable".
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Zelensky: "Russian butchers"
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky accused Russian soldiers of being "butchers", the same word used in recent days by US President Joe Biden for Russian President Vladimir Putin. In a video message Zelensky described the Russian armed forces as "murderers, torturers, rapists, looters" and then, addressing the mothers of Russian soldiers and referring to what happened in Bucha, he added: "Even if you have raised looters, how can they have they also become butchers? ... They killed deliberately and with satisfaction ".
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Putin signs a decree on retaliation for visas to hostile countries
Russian President Vladimir Putin signed the decree on retaliation measures on visas for hostile countries. Tass writes it.
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Zelensky goes to Bucha, visits the hospital
Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is visiting the city of Bucha, where he went
to the city hospital.
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Kiev publishes the list of Russian soldiers involved in Bucha
A long, detailed 87-page list with the names of over 1,600 Russian soldiers believed to be involved in the Bucha massacre. The main intelligence department of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine publishes it on its website, underlining that "all war criminals will be brought to justice for crimes committed against the Ukrainian civilian population". In the list of "personnel of 64 separate motorized infantry brigades of the 35th Army", the soldiers are identified with military rank, name and surname, date of birth and passport details. For many of them, it is simply spelled 'private' instead of military rank. There are also some names from various Chechen districts.
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A torture chamber with five corpses was found in Bucha
The Ukrainian army found in Bucha a torture chamber used by Russian soldiers with the corpses of five civilians bent forward and their hands tied behind their backs. The news is reported by the UNIAN agency. Russian troops reportedly used the basement of a local children's sanatorium called "Radiant".
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Lavrov: "A staging of the West in Bucha"
"The situation in Bucha is a staging of the West and Ukraine on social networks". This is said by the Russian Foreign Minister Serghei Lavrov taken up by TASS.
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"Russians shoot at church in Lugansk"
Russian soldiers fired at a church in Rubizhne, in the Luhansk region, and wounded two priests. The head of the Luhansk regional military administration Sergey Gaidai reported on Facebook, quoted by UNIAN. "The orcs fired at another church and wounded two priests. A racist bullet hit a church in honor of St. Luke of the Crimea in Rubezhnoye. The bombing pierced the roof of the church," he wrote.
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The story of the inhabitants of Bucha: "The Russians were shooting wildly"
"The horror in our village began when about twenty Russian tanks crossed this road in columns and started shooting with Kalashnikovs madly on our houses and on the cars that passed, crushing them. They did not evacuate, they fired. And with some. tanks have broken through the houses ". This is what Tamara tells in Bucha, Ukraine, and as collected by the news agencies on the spot.
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Macron: "We need new sanctions, war crimes in Bucha"
Emmanuel Macron said he was "in favor" of the European Union deciding on new sanctions against Russia after hundreds of civilian bodies were found in the Kiev region. "There are very clear indications of war crimes" in Bucha, and it is "more or less established that it was the Russian army" that was present there, the French president added.
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Zelensky: "Despite the atrocities, talks with Russia continue"
"It is difficult to say how, after all that has been done, we can have any kind of negotiation with Russia. This is on a personal level. But as president, I have to do it. Every war must end." Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told CBS.
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Warsaw: "International Commission for Genocide by the Russians"
Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki called for an international investigation into what he called a "genocide" by Russian troops in Ukraine. "We are proposing an international commission to investigate this crime of genocide," he said, referring to the killing of civilians in cities like Bucha near the capital Kiev.
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Missiles on Ternopil, citizens in shelters
Missile attack on Ternopil, a city in western Ukraine, the capital of the region of the same name. This was announced on Telegram by the mayor of Ternopil Serhiy Nadal, quoted by Ukrainska Pravda, who added that he expected official data from the West operational command. An enemy missile - he reported - would have been shot down in Slavuta, in the Khmelnytsky region, in western Ukraine. The mayor said the air alert was ongoing and asked citizens to stay in shelters.
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"Russia is mobilizing another 60 thousand soldiers"
Russia is mobilizing another 60,000 troops. This was stated by the Ukrainian army, according to the Guardian. Kiev forces released their operational report at 6 am this morning, stating that Moscow has launched a "covert mobilization" of some 60,000 troops to replenish lost units in Ukraine.
(Unioneonline / ss-lf)