After atrocities in Bucha: USA want to sue Russia

According to the United States, it is currently gathering evidence to accuse Russia and President Putin of war crimes internationally. In addition, Washington and Great Britain want to exclude Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

The US is gathering evidence to bring Russia and President Vladimir Putin before the International Criminal Court or some other court for war crimes. US National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan said: His boss, US President Biden, had previously once again called Putin a “war criminal”.

According to Sullivan, there is still no evidence that the atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha could be classified as genocide. However, the USA had turned to four places to get the evidence for a procedure. This included the information that the United States and friendly countries had, among other things, from secret services, observations by Ukrainians in the country itself, findings from international organizations such as the United Nations, and interviews conducted by independent media worldwide.

Pentagon: Russian forces responsible for atrocities

According to the US Department of Defense, Russian forces are clearly responsible for the atrocities in the Ukrainian city of Bucha. “I think it’s quite obvious – not just to us, but to the world – that Russian forces are responsible for the atrocities in Bucha,” Pentagon spokesman John Kirby said. The US could not say exactly which units were deployed there, but there is no doubt that the atrocities took place and were an act of Russian forces, Kirby said.

US satellite images released on Monday are also said to confirm that some of the bodies found in Bucha were already lying there before Russian troops left. The “high-resolution” images “confirm recent videos and photos on social media showing bodies that have been lying in the streets for weeks,” a spokesman for US satellite imaging company Maxar Technologies said.

At the weekend, the pictures of the crimes from Butscha caused great horror around the world. Hundreds of bodies were discovered in the suburban community of the capital Kyiv over the weekend after Russian troops withdrew. Some lay on the street with their hands tied. Fatalities were also discovered in other communities around Kiev. Ukraine blames Russian troops for the many deaths in Bucha.

Russian Ambassador to the UN: Atrocities in Bucha “staged”

Russia’s UN ambassador Vasily Nebensja described the atrocities in Bucha in the evening as a “staged provocation”. This is a “disgusting provocation by the regime in Kyiv,” said Nebensia at a press conference in New York. The Russian military has not done what it is accused of, it has not committed atrocities against civilians in Ukraine. “It’s not, it wasn’t, and it never will be.”

Russia has evidence for all of this, which it will present to the UN Security Council as soon as possible, said Nebensia. Russia had already requested a special session of the UN Security Council for Monday. However, the current British presidency of the Council left it at the scheduled meeting on Tuesday, which Nebensja sharply criticized.

US wants to get Russia suspended from UN Human Rights Council

Meanwhile, the United States has called for Russia to be temporarily excluded from the UN Human Rights Council. There are increasing reports of human rights violations by Russian invading troops in Ukraine, said UN Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield. Russia should therefore lose its seat on the Human Rights Council.

The UN Human Rights Council has 47 member states. The UN General Assembly would have to decide whether to suspend Russia. Its spokeswoman Paulina Kubiak said the panel had not yet received a request for a meeting on this topic.

The USA received support from London in its advance. British Foreign Secretary Liz Truss also called for Russia to be excluded from the Human Rights Council. “In the face of strong evidence of war crimes, including reports of mass graves and a heinous bloodbath in Bucha, Russia cannot remain a member of the UN Human Rights Council,” Truss said on Twitter. “Russia must be suspended.”

The Russian ambassador to the UN, Nebensia, was obviously irritated by the attempt to have Russia’s membership of the UN Human Rights Council suspended. “Once again, this is unprecedented and will not facilitate, encourage or support the peace talks between Russia and Ukraine.” Meanwhile, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says there is “no place for Russia in the UN Human Rights Council.”

Ukraine: Bodies of five tied men found in basement in Bucha

According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, the bodies of five tortured men were discovered in a cellar in Bucha. The authorities said in the evening in the online service Telegram that they were “unarmed civilians” who had been killed by Russian soldiers. They were found with their hands tied in the basement of a children’s sanatorium in the Kiev suburb. An investigation had been launched, it said. The authority published photos.

Ukraine has accused the Russian army of carrying out a “massacre” of civilians in Bucha.

Ukraine registers highest number of victims in Borodyanka

The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office says it has already registered more than 7,000 reports of Russian war crimes in the Kyiv region. Most of the victims were in Borodyanka, Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said in the evening, according to the Unian agency. “I think we will talk about Borodyanka separately,” she said.

According to the information, the Attorney General’s Office is already working on the investigation of war crimes in Irpin, Bucha and Worsel.

Selenskyj wants to speak before the UN Security Council on Tuesday

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy plans to address the UN Security Council on Tuesday. At least 300 civilians were killed in Bucha, and the number could be even higher in Borodyanka and other cities. “We are interested in an investigation that is as complete and transparent as possible,” says Zelenskyj in his evening video address.

The results of the investigation would have to be made known and explained to the entire international community. It is important that journalists from all over the world travel to Bucha and other places to document the killing of civilians on the ground.

Zelenskyj: “Every Russian will know the whole truth”

Ukraine’s Interior Minister Denys Monastyrskyj also pledged a quick, independent review and documentation of the Bucha’s atrocities. “As soon as the bridges that the Russians blew up during their retreat have been repaired, experts will have access,” he told the Tagesspiegel. “The International Committee of the Red Cross is already involved in collecting evidence,” said the minister. Experts from the International Criminal Court and other authorities are also to be involved.

Zelenskyj said those responsible should be held accountable for the crimes. “The time will come when every Russian will learn the whole truth about which of them killed their fellow citizens. Who gave orders. Who turned a blind eye to the murders,” said Zelenskyy.

In the video message, he reported on his visit to Irpin and Bucha. “The cities are simply destroyed.” The bodies on the streets have therefore already been recovered from most streets. But there are still dead people in the backyards and houses. Selenskyj feared that Russian troops were now trying to “cover up the traces of their crimes” – unlike in Bucha.

It breaks his heart, Zelenskyj said, that he is only now hearing statements from all the world’s leading politicians “that should have been made a long time ago, when everything was already completely clear.” He again called for stronger sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine’s foreign minister invites “doubters” to Bucha

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba invited all colleagues who doubted the effectiveness of new sanctions against Russia to visit Bucha, a suburb of Kiev. According to Kuleba, the Bucha atrocities are just “the tip of the iceberg” of the crimes committed by Russia.

The invitation applies primarily to some unnamed members of the G7 group, Kuleba said after a meeting with British Foreign Secretary Truss in Warsaw. “I know that there are some members of the G7 who still doubt the point of further sanctions against Russia,” Kuleba was quoted as saying by the Unian agency. “Therefore, I invite these colleagues to visit Bucha before their ministerial meeting on Thursday to dispel any doubts,” said Kuleba.

“Half-measures are no longer enough,” said Kuleba, reaffirming his call for the “strictest sanctions” against Moscow. The G7 includes Germany, Great Britain, Canada, the USA as well as Japan, Italy and France.

The United States plans to announce new sanctions this week

The US government announced on Monday that it intends to announce new sanctions against Russia this week. Coordination with allies and partner countries is currently underway, said US President Joe Biden’s National Security Advisor, Sullivan. He declined to give details of the new sanctions planned or under consideration.

When asked about a possible import ban on Russian oil and gas in Europe, Sullivan said there were talks with both the EU and member states about “the full range of sanctions”. Ultimately, it is about reaching a consensus in order to further increase the pressure on Moscow.