Abuses committed by the Russian army are being debated by Westerners, while Joe Biden no longer hesitates to speak of genocide, angering the Kremlin.
As the 50th day of the war in Ukraine approaches, Russian attacks continue to hit areas populated by civilians. Meanwhile, Ukrainian authorities are providing a glimpse of Moscow’s potential losses in the conflict.
• Another deadly day for civilians
Ukrainian authorities on Wednesday denounced new acts by Russia that could amount to war crimes. According to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office, seven people were shot dead in the Cherson region in the south of the country. “In an attempt to cover up the crime, residents blew up the house where the bodies of those shot dead were found,” authorities said.
Bombings in Kharkiv in north-eastern Ukraine also claim many lives. Around noon on Wednesday, the region’s governor assured that strikes had killed seven civilians and injured 22 others in a 24-hour period. Fresh strikes later in the day left four dead and at least ten injured, according to the governor.
• The bodies of more than 1,500 Russian soldiers in the Dnipro mortuary
The deputy mayor of the city of Dnipro in eastern Ukraine said more than 1,500 Russian soldiers were in morgues at the scene.
“They lie in mortuary refrigerators,” he said in an interview with Russian-language media Nastoïashchee Vremia, saying he hopes “Russian mothers can come and pick up their sons.” “Whatever you think, they are someone’s children. Yours Mothers raised them (…), they loved them, they took them to school on September 1st,” he continued.
This very high figure contrasts with Russia’s claims for casualties in the invasion of Ukraine. The last official report, published on March 29, reports a total of 1,351 dead and 3,825 injured.
• “Ukraine is a crime scene,” said the prosecutor at the International Criminal Court
International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor Karim Khan said Ukraine is currently “a crime scene”.
We are here because we have good reason to believe that crimes are being committed within the jurisdiction of the Court. We must penetrate the fog of war to find out the truth,” he said as he traveled to Kyiv to meet with the prosecutor general of Ukraine.
The ICC has launched an investigation into war crimes in Ukraine after requests from 41 states, including France. For its part, Kyiv announced that investigations had already been launched into 5,000 cases.
• The Kremlin finds it “unacceptable” that Biden accuses Putin of genocide
While Joe Biden had called Russia’s abuses in Ukraine “genocide,” the Kremlin expressed its disapproval.
“Our disagreement is categorical and we find such attempts to distort reality unacceptable, especially as they come from the President of the United States, a country whose actions are well known in recent history,” commented Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov.
Note that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau followed in his American counterpart’s footsteps this Wednesday as he too used the term genocide to denounce Russian actions.
• For Zelenskyy, Macron’s refusal to denounce a “genocide” in Ukraine is “very hurtful”
In light of Joe Biden’s recent comments, Emmanuel Macron wants to be cautious. “It’s crazy what’s happening, it’s incredibly brutal (…) but at the same time I’m looking at the facts and I want to try as much as possible to continue to stop this war and restore peace, so I’m not sure whether the escalation of the words serves the cause,” he said on Wednesday.
An excursion that was not appreciated by Volodymyr Zelensky. The President of Ukraine has indeed found Emmanuel Macron’s refusal to use the word “genocide” to be “very hurtful”.
“I will do my best to raise this issue with Mr. Macron today. If not, then tomorrow if he finds time,” he added.
Anthony Audureau with AFP