New York, April 5 – The United Nations joined government leaders in calling for an independent investigation of massacre of civilians by Russian troops in Ukraine as the UN Security Council held a fresh meeting at which Ukrainian President Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy made a brief virtual appearance for the first time.
Zelenskyy told the 15-nation council through a video program that Russian military troops have committed the worst atrocities since World War II and that they should be charged with war crimes. He referred to civilians killed in Bucha, a city on the outskirts of Kyiv and other cities. Images of corpses and destructions at Bucha were shown on a big screen in the council chamber.
“The Russian military searched for and purposefully killed anyone who served our country,” Zelenskyy said. “They shot and killed women outside their houses when they just tried to call someone who is alive. They killed entire families, adults and children, and they tried to escape.”
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, who attended the council meeting, called for an independent investigation to guarantee effective accountability.
He said Russia’s “fully-fledged invasion” of Ukraine that started on February 24 is “one of the greatest challenges ever to the international order and the global peace architecture, founded on the United Nations Charter.”
“We are not saying that this specific incident is a war crime, we can’t establish that yet, that is why there needs to be detailed forensic examination. Justice and accountability take time; what is important is that this work is undertaken and continues to ensure accountability going forward.”
Martin Griffith, the UN Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator addressed the council via a video from Geneva and shared the statements made by other UN officials that Ukrainian civilians are the main victims of the war
“In the last six weeks, as we have heard, at least 1,430 people have been killed, among them over 121 children,” he said. “We know this is very likely a serious underestimate. Homes and civilian infrastructure – bridges, hospitals and schools – have been damaged and destroyed.”
He said more than 11.3 million people have been forced to flee their homes, including more than 4.2 million refugees in neighboring countries.
Griffith said the World Food Program has reached more than 1.3 million people with cash and food assistance and plans to reach around 2.5 million people in April while health organizations report that more than 180 tons of medical supplies were delivered in Ukraine, with another 470 tons on the way. This will address the health needs of around six million people in the months ahead. He reported that a convoy was dispatched from our humanitarian coordination hub in Dnipro to Severodonetsk in eastern Ukraine.
Griffith, who has been discussing a humanitarian cease-fire with both Russia and Ukraine, said, “For the sake of the people of Ukraine, and the sake of those around the world who cannot afford to bear the additional burden this war imposes on them. And all of us we must as the UN Secretary-General says, silence the guns.”
The United Kingdom supports investigation of war crimes
UK Ambassador Barbara Woodward, who presides the UN Security Council in April, said in concluding the council meeting: “We have heard today, again, the devastating impact of Russia’s unilateral and illegal military action in Ukraine. Its impact on surrounding countries and the region, and on the security and prosperity of the wider world, as it seeks to recover from the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“And now, as Russia is forced into retreat from areas around Kyiv, the brutality of the invasion is laid bare. We have all seen the horrific images from the towns of Bucha and Irpin of civilians deliberately killed in areas from which Russian forces have recently withdrawn — and the video we saw earlier underlined that horror.”
“These acts, and other credible incidents, must be investigated as war crimes, and the UK fully supports the work of the International Criminal Court and the work of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and other national prosecutors.”
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United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles – United Nations journalism articles To date, the Russian offensive has displaced more than 10 million people in ju