Jakarta –
Ukraine accused Russian troops of carrying out a ‘massacre’ in the city of Bucha. Russia immediately denied the accusations, calling photos and videos of the bodies in Bucha a show by the Ukrainian government to the West.
Russia’s defense ministry denied Ukraine’s accusations, saying the footage and photos showing the bodies in Bucha were “another provocation” by the Ukrainian government.
The images of Bucha came after Ukraine said on Saturday that its forces had retaken control of the entire Kiev region and liberated towns from Russian forces.
The images of the bodies sparked outrage in Ukraine and abroad and added to pressure on Russian President Vladimir Putin with the possibility of further Western sanctions. Western countries have so far sought to isolate Russia economically and punish it for the invasion, which began on February 24.
“The Bucha massacre was deliberate,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said on Twitter.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken described the images of the bodies as a ‘blow in the stomach’. German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said Russia must pay for “war crimes” and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said his government would increase sanctions.
“Putin and his supporters will feel the consequences,” said German Chancellor Olaf Scholz adding that Western allies would agree to further sanctions in the coming days.
German Defense Minister Christine Lambrecht said the European Union should discuss banning Russian gas imports – a departure from Berlin’s earlier rejection of the idea of an embargo on Russian energy imports.
In Russia’s first public comments on the allegations, the defense ministry in Moscow described photos and videos of Bucha as ‘another show staged by the Kyiv regime for Western media’.
Russia has previously denied targeting civilians and has rejected war crimes charges in what it calls a “special military operation” aimed at the demilitarization and “denazification” of Ukraine. The Ukrainian government itself says its country has been attacked without provocation.
On Saturday, Reuters saw bodies in mass graves still lying on the street. Meanwhile on Sunday the mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk, showed reporters two bodies with white cloths tied around their arms, one of which appeared to have been shot in the mouth.
Oleksiy Arestovych, an aide to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, said Ukrainian troops had recovered the bodies of women who had been raped and burned as well as the bodies of local officials and children.
Watch the video ‘Russia Claims to Destroy Ukrainian Air Defense & Aviation Control Center in Kiev’:
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