Ukraine War: Bodies were collected off the streets of Ukraine’s Bucha following the civilian killings.
Kyiv:
The recent discovery of bodies scattered on the streets of the Ukrainian town of Bucha after the withdrawal of Russian forces has sparked global outrage.
In response, US President Joe Biden on Monday called for a war crimes trial and more sanctions on Russia. The EU said it is ready to send a team of investigators to gather evidence of possible war crimes after the mass graves were discovered close to the the Ukrainian capital.
The Kremlin denies Russian forces killed civilians, claiming that the images of dead bodies in Bucha are “fakes” produced by “Ukrainian radicals.”
Ten civilians were also killed while 46 were wounded in a Russian bombardment of the Ukrainian town Mykolaiv on Monday. In a jarring discovery, Ukrainian authorities also found the bodies of five civilians with their hands tied in a village west of Kyiv, including those of that town’s mayor, her husband and son.
Here are the LIVE updates on the Russia-Ukraine War:
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China’s Foreign Minister Wang Yi spoke with his Ukrainian counterpart, Dmytro Kuleba, in a phone call on Monday, with Beijing again calling on talks to end the conflict in Ukraine.
The call, which Beijing said was made at Ukraine’s request, was the first reported high-level conversation between the countries since March 1, when Kuleba asked Beijing to use its ties with Moscow to stop Russia’s invasion, the Ukrainian foreign ministry said at the time.
“Wars end eventually. The key is how to reflect on the pain, to maintain lasting security in Europe and establish a balanced, effective and sustainable European security mechanism,” Wang said, according to the ministry.
“China stands ready to play a constructive role in this regard in an objective position.”
Oil prices extended gains Tuesday on the prospect of further sanctions on Russia for alleged “atrocities” in some occupied Ukraine cities, while equities struggled to build on a rally in New York and Europe.
European Union officials were discussing new measures against Moscow after reports — denied by the Kremlin — that troops had executed civilians.
Among the punishments could be a ban on imports of Russian crude, following a similar move by the United States and Britain.
White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan also signalled more US sanctions were on the way this week.
Russia will respond proportionately to the expulsion of its diplomats from a number of Western countries, Russian ex-president and deputy head of security council Dmitry Medvedev said late on Monday.
“Everyone knows the answer: it will be symmetrical and destructive for bilateral relations,” Medvedev said in a posting on his Telegram channel.
“Who have they punished? First of all, themselves.”
On Monday, France said it would expel 35 Russian diplomats over Moscow’s actions in Ukraine and Germany declared “significant number” of Russian diplomats as undesirable,.
The United States and Europe were planning new sanctions on Tuesday to punish Moscow over civilian killings in Ukraine, and President Volodymyr Zelenskiy warned more deaths were likely to be uncovered in areas seized from Russian invaders.
Russian forces withdrew from towns north of the capital Kyiv last week as it turns its assault to Ukraine’s south and east. Ukrainian troops recaptured towns devastated by nearly six weeks of war, including Bucha, where dead civilians lined the streets.
Searing images of a mass grave in Bucha and the bound bodies of people shot at close range drew an international outcry on Monday. U.S. President Joe Biden called for a war crimes trial against Russia’s President Vladimir Putin, with Washington, Germany and France promising new sanctions against Moscow.
Russia denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians and said it would present “empirical evidence” to a meeting of the United Nations Security Council on Tuesday proving its forces were not involved.