Moscow, Europe Brief News – French President Emmanuel Macron has called for imposing further sanctions on Russia over Bucha Killings.
Journalists from international media over the weekend found corpses in civilian clothes – some with their hands bound – in Bucha after Ukrainian forces retook the town on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, from the Russian army.
“What happened in Bucha demands a new round of sanctions and very clear measures,” Macron said, adding that there were “very clear indications of war crimes”.
Macron, who faces a re-election battle this week, said new sanctions targeting the oil and coal industries would be “particularly” painful for Russia.
France will coordinate such steps with its European Union partners, “especially Germany”, in the coming days, he said, adding that the bloc could also impose further sanctions against Russian individuals.
The EU had been weighing a possible ban on Russian crude imports, though some members including Germany, which is heavily reliant on imports from Moscow, opposed such a move.
However, outrage at the evidence emerging from Kyiv province following the departure of Russian forces could prompt the EU to cut its gas dependence on Russia, which provides some 45 percent of its needs. Russia also accounts for about 25 percent of oil imports and 45 percent of coal imports, according to the European Commission.
After Ukrainian forces regained control of Bucha on March 31, images of bodies lying on the streets – including some with their hands bound behind their backs – sent shockwaves through international capitals.
Local authorities said they had been forced to dig communal graves to bury the dead accumulating in the streets.
However, the Kremlin has categorically rejected accusations that Russian forces were responsible for killing civilians in Bucha, suggesting images of corpses lining the streets were “fakes”.
Journalists from international media over the weekend found corpses in civilian clothes – some with their hands bound – in Bucha after Ukrainian forces retook the town on the outskirts of Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, from the Russian army.
