The horrors seen in recent days from the town of Bocha have caused shock and outrage around the world and have led many leaders to publicly call for the acceleration of the investigation against Russia on suspicion of war crimes, as well as the deepening of sanctions against it. Accordingly, the U.S. State Department announced tonight (Monday) that the United States supports the establishment of an international team composed of a number of prosecutors who will gather evidence and analyze it together, against Russia, as part of an investigation into suspected war crimes against Ukraine.
Also, according to an analysis of satellite images taken by the New York Times team, these have succeeded in refuting Russia’s claims that the killing of the civilians in Bocha occurred after the Russian forces left the town.
When the graphic images appeared over the weekend, which showed the bodies of civilians lying in the streets, some with their hands tied and some with gunshot wounds to the head, the Russian Defense Ministry denied and claimed that the forces left the place on March 30. The Russians even claimed that this was a “Ukrainian provocation” since the bodies were allegedly laid after the withdrawal of the forces.
Russia has denied the allegations in a statement issued Friday stating “Similar, baseless allegations concerning Russia’s intelligence have been made more than once. .
According to one video taken by a local council member on April 2, bodies were seen scattered on one of its streets. Satellite images provided by Maxar Technologies show that at least 11 of them have been on the street since March 11, when Russia claimed to have occupied the town.
Kenneth Roth, head of the human rights organization, said in an interview with CNN that the images of the mass graves rising from Bocha were “sickening” and warned that these could be “replicated” on an even larger scale. He added that If the Kremlin wants to avoid criminal responsibility – “it must control its forces“He noted that the Hague Tribunal has already ruled that it will open an investigation into suspected war crimes in Ukraine, but stressed that this should be done as soon as possible, lest some of the evidence disappear.
Meanwhile, in France it was decided to expel a group of Russian diplomats, the Foreign Ministry said. “Russia’s actions run counter to our national security interests. Our decision is part of a European initiative,” the ministry said in a statement. Earlier, Germany also decided on the same move.
Bodies on the streets of shame, Ukraine (Photo: Social Networks)Earlier tonight, President of the United States, Joe BidenOnce again condemned the President of Russia, Vladimir Putin And called him a “war criminal.” He also called for Putin to be prosecuted for war crimes.
In this regard, the Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergei Lavrov, He replied: “His response indicates that some Western countries have problems with their conscience.” He added that Russia would hold a press conference in New York, where it would address the allegations attributed to it following the photos from Bocha.