Biden seeks 'war crime trial' for Bucha killings, Moscow slams charges
RUSSIA,UKRAINE,US: United States President Joe Biden on Monday condemned the alleged killing of civilians by Russian troops in Ukraine’s Bucha and called for a “war crimes trial” as he spoke about more sanctions on Moscow.
Biden made the statement while interacting with the press at the White House. He also called Russian President Vladimir Putin “a war criminal.”
Bodies of several civilians with their hands tied and killed from a close range were found by Ukraine forces in the recently reclaimed city, besides the discovery of mass graves.
Earlier in the day, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy visited the Bucha town, situated just outside the capital city of Kyiv amid rising global outrage over the alleged atrocities. He also visited the area where mass graves were found along with other signs indicating mass executions.
The “war crime will be recognised by the world as genocide,” Zelenskyy said, while speaking in a televised address from Bucha. He said it had now become harder for Ukraine to negotiate with Russia since Kyiv became aware of the scale of atrocities carried out by Russian troops in the country.
“It’s very difficult to talk when you see what they’ve done here,” Zelenskyy said, adding, “The longer the Russian Federation drags out the negotiating process, the worse it is for them and for this situation and for this war,” the Ukrainian leader added.
Moscow categorically denied the accusations. Speaking to reporters on a conference call, Kremlin spokesperson Dmitry Peskov said the facts and chronology of the events in Bucha did not support Ukraine’s version of events and urged international leaders not to rush to a judgement.
Meanwhile, Russian troops are preparing for a big attack in the Luhansk region of eastern Ukraine, the local governor Sergiy Gaiday said on Telegram on Monday (April 4), urging a mass evacuation.
“We see that equipment is coming from different directions, they are bringing manpower, they are bringing fuel,” Gaiday said in a video statement. “We understand that they are preparing for a full-scale big breakthrough,” he added. Gaiday urged residents to leave the region as soon as possible.
Meanwhile, Russia has repositioned about two thirds of its forces from around Kyiv, with many consolidating in Belarus where they are expected to be refit, resupplied and redeployed elsewhere in Ukraine, a senior U.S. defense official said on Monday.
Over the weekend, Ukraine said its forces had seized back all areas around Kyiv, claiming complete control of the capital region for the first time since Russia launched the invasion.
The U.S. official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told reporters the United States estimated that prior to the pullback, there had been just under 20 battalion tactical groups focused on Kyiv. That was less than a sixth of the battalion tactical groups that the Kremlin deployed for the invasion.
– THE BANGKOK POST, NDTV