EU strongly condemns war atrocities by Russian armed forces in Ukraine's Bucha & Irpin

The European Union (EU) on Tuesday condemned "in the strongest possible terms" the war atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in the Ukrainian cities including Bucha and Irpin. Mass graves of the civilians were discovered in the two Ukrainian towns that have recently been liberated from the invading troops. EU on April 5 derided the war crimes witnessed in the northwest town, and expressed shock at the "haunting images of large numbers of civilian deaths and casualties." The bloc condemned the massive destruction of civilian infrastructures, and alleged that it shows "the true face of the brutal war of aggression." 

"The massacres in the town of Bucha and other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities committed on European soil," the European Union said in a statement. 

The EU emphasised that the Russian authorities are responsible for the atrocities that were committed while they had effective control of the area. "They are subject to the international law of occupation," the bloc stressed. It went on to add that the perpetrators of war crimes and other "serious violations", including the government officials and military leaders "will be held accountable." The European Union also pledged support for the measures to ensure accountability for human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine by the Russian Armed forces.

'We fully support the investigation..': EU

"We fully support the investigation launched by the ICC Prosecutor into war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as the work of the OHCHR Commission of Inquiry," said the European Union in a statement. It added that the bloc will assist the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and Civil Society in the preservation of the evidence of the war crimes. "We stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in these somber hours for the whole world. The EU will continue to firmly support Ukraine and will advance, as a matter of urgency, work on further sanctions against Russia," it stressed. 

Kremlin had categorically denied any accusations related to the murder of civilians in the city of Bucha, calling it yet another provocation by Ukraine. It also emphasised that allegations on the matter should be treated with doubt as world leaders rushed to slap harsher sanctions on Moscow. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, meanwhile, labelled the Russian troops as “murderers”, “torturers” and “rapists” and vowed to investigate the war crimes with the help of the international community.