EU leaders condemn Putin’s ‘cruel war’ on visit to Bucha

Bucha, Ukraine, Apr 8 (EFE).- The deaths of civilians in Bucha show the “cruel face” of Russian president Vladimir Putin’s army, European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, said Friday.

“The unthinkable has happened here. We have seen the cruel face of Putin’s army. We have seen the recklessness and the coldheartedness with which they have been occupying the city,” von der Leyen told reporters during a visit to Bucha.

“Here in Bucha we saw our humanity being shattered, the whole world is mourning with the people of Bucha, they are the ones defending the border of Europe, defending humanity, defending dimplacy and therefore we stand with them in this important fight,” she added.

The Commission chief was visiting Bucha, where hundreds of bodies of civilians were found in mass graves, with EU’s top diplomat Josep Borrell as part of a trip to Ukraine to demonstrate their moral and financial support for the country and president Volodymr Zelenskyy, whom they were due to meet later on.

“We bear witness to harrowing images in Bucha today with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal. Destruction, atrocities committed by Russia and the unspeakable price paid by innocent Ukrainian people,” Borrell tweeted.

“The war crimes Russia committed in Bucha and elsewhere must be investigated and prosecuted,” he added.

The trip comes as the EU approved a fifth package of sanctions against Russia which include a ban on Russian coal imports, the first to impact the energy sector in Europe.

“The aim of our sanctions is to stop the reckless, inhuman and aggressive behavior of Russia’s troops and the illegal aggression against Ukraine,” Borrell said. EFE

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