Zelensky before the Security Council after his visit to Bucha

And Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky will speak, on Tuesday, before the UN Security Council, after discovering massacres attributed to Russian forces near Kyiv, particularly in Bucha, where he went on Monday.

The leader who denounced “war crimes” and “genocide” after updating dozens of bodies in civilian clothes in Bucha and other localities near the Ukrainian capital, will intervene before the Security Council for the first time since his country was invaded by Russia and indicated that the United Kingdom currently chairs this body to the United Nations.

Mr. Zelensky, in a video broadcast at night from Monday to Tuesday, confirmed this intervention, which we don’t know if it will happen on air or be delayed. The time will come when every Russian will learn the whole truth about who among their compatriots was murdered. Who gave the orders?

And earlier Monday, he went to Buch, where dozens of bodies were found in a small town about thirty kilometers northwest of Kyiv, after the withdrawal of Russian forces.

“You are here and you can see what happened. He said at an impromptu press conference, after walking a few meters down a street in the city center, where the tattered corpses were strewn with troop carriers and Russian armored vehicles among destroyed houses.

According to the Ukrainian president, 300 people were killed and tortured “only in Bucha”.

Russia denied its responsibility, stressing today, Monday, that it is in the process of submitting “documents” that explain, according to what was reported, the “real nature” of the events that took place in Bucha.

– “A criminal of war” –

The discovery of these “war crimes” angered Ukraine’s Western allies, who promised to impose new sanctions “this week” on Russia.

On Monday, US President Joe Biden said of his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin he “should be responsible,” reiterating that he considers him a “war criminal.”

White House National Security Adviser Jake Sullivan, for his part, noted that the discussions relate in particular to potential “energy-related” actions, a very sensitive topic for Europeans, and heavily dependent on Russian gas. Thus, on Monday, Germany made it clear that it could not do without Russian gas shipments “in the short term”, through the voice of Finance Minister Christian Lindner.

The United States banned the import of Russian oil and gas shortly after the invasion of Ukraine, but not the European Union, which was importing about 40% of Russia in 2021.

The President of the European Parliament, Roberta Mitsola, had earlier called on the leaders of the 27 countries to impose a “binding ban” on Russian energy imports.

The Europeans also responded by announcing the coordinated expulsion of dozens of Russian diplomats. Thus, Germany decided to expel a “large number” of Russian diplomats, 40 according to AFP information.

– ‘Unfriendly’ expelled –

Moscow responded to this “unfriendly” expulsion that would “lead to a deterioration” of relations with Russia.

Today, Monday, we learned from a source close to the French Foreign Ministry that France will expel 35 Russian diplomats “whose activities are contrary to its interests.”

On the same day, Lithuania announced the expulsion of the Russian ambassador to the Baltic country “in response to the Russian military aggression against sovereign Ukraine and the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces.”

Speaking on Monday with Mr. Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the EU was also setting up a “joint team with Ukraine (…) to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity”. last.

The European Union wants to join forces with the International Criminal Court, which has been investigating allegations of war crimes in Ukraine since March 3.

Its governor, Sergoic Gaidich, announced on Monday that Ukraine is now preparing, after the Russian withdrawal around Kyiv, to launch an “intense offensive” in the eastern Ukraine’s Lugansk region.

“We see that the equipment is coming from different directions, that they (the Russians) are bringing in the men, they are bringing in the fuel (…). He said in a video message.

While waiting for the Russian steam guns, the Ukrainian-controlled Donbass are evacuating their residents. Women, children, elderly people … Hundreds of people have been waiting for their train at the station in Kramatorsk, the de facto regional capital, since October 2014, from the territory still under the control of Kyiv.

Two-thirds of the Russian forces that have occupied the Kyiv region since the invasion began have retreated to Belarus, a senior Pentagon official said on Monday, saying it was likely a reorganization before another offensive elsewhere in Ukraine.

– ‘Repositioning its forces’ –

And for the White House, this new phase of the war in Ukraine “could go on for months or more.”

Russia “is in the process of repositioning its forces to focus its offensive on eastern and southern parts of Ukraine.” On Monday, Sullivan said she “tried to advance all of Ukraine and failed.”

According to the White House National Security Adviser, “Moscow will continue its air strikes and missile launches into the rest of the country to cause military and economic damage and also, obviously, to sow terror.”

Ukrainian Mayor Vitali Klitschko called on residents of the Ukrainian capital who fled the Russian invasion on Monday not to return there “for at least a week”, and Russian bombing, he said, is still possible there.

During the night from Monday to Tuesday, sirens sounded in Kharkiv, the second city in the country, and the governor of the Mykolaiv region (south), Vitaly Kim, condemned Monday evening the bombing of a hospital in this city, the last barrier on the road to Odessa, the largest port in Ukraine. The mayor of Mykolaiv, Oleksandr Senkevich, said earlier on Monday that ten civilians were killed and at least 46 wounded in the bombing targeting Mykolaiv.

In Mariupol, another besieged city in southern Ukraine, police said on Monday that a Red Cross team tasked with evacuating civilians had been “detained” by police in a nearby Russian-controlled town. Speech issued by the International Committee of the Red Cross.

According to the mayor of this coastal city, Vadim Boychenko, there are still about 130 thousand people there, in a catastrophic humanitarian situation. He added that the city, which had a population of nearly half a million people before the war, is “90%” in ruins and “40%” of its infrastructure is beyond repair.

More than 4.2 million Ukrainian refugees have fled their country since the invasion ordered by Russian President Vladimir Putin on February 24, according to figures from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees published on Monday.

burx / ob / ybl