NATO identified Russia as responsible for the Bucha massacre and fears further massacres in still occupied areas

NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg holds Russia “responsible” for the killing of hundreds of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha and fears that “more massacres”, “more examples of war crimes”, will still be discovered in areas still under the control of Russian troops.

Stoltenberg appeared before the media to advance the issues to be discussed at the meeting of NATO Foreign Ministers scheduled for Wednesday and Thursday, which comes preceded by the “horrible images” captured in Bucha and other places “controlled by the Russians until a few days ago.”

The head of NATO has detracted the validity of Russian complaints about an alleged invention of these killings, noting, for example, that “satellites tell the same story” as the Ukrainian authorities and Western governments, and anticipating that there may be other atrocities.

“Attacking and killing civilians is a war crime,” emphasized Stoltenberg, who has called for investigations and work to hold “those responsible for these atrocities” accountable to justice. In this regard, he stressed that the allied countries were collaborating in the investigations already under way, including that of the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

At the military level, Stoltenberg has praised the “resistance” of the Ukrainian Armed Forces, which is “forcing” Moscow to change its plans. However, he warned that Russian President Vladimir Putin “does not give up his ambitions” and the withdrawal of troops around Kiev cannot be understood as a definitive withdrawal.

Stoltenberg says that Russia wants to regroup and equip its troops with more weapons and supplies to focus on the eastern and southern fronts, for example to consolidate a land corridor between the Crimean peninsula and the areas of the Donbas controlled since 2014 by separatist rebels.

In fact, in this “crucial phase” of the war, Russia would now aspire to “occupy the entire Donbas”. “We have a big offensive,” said the Norwegian politician during his media appearance in Brussels.

COMMITMENT TO KYIV

NATO member states are committed to giving “more support” to Kiev, both militarily and humanitarian/cybersecurity, but Stoltenberg has stressed that the agreement still involves not sending planes or troops on the ground.

He believes that taking this step would mean starting a “total war” between Russia and NATO, which would entail “more death, more destruction”. Thus, he believes that the Atlantic Alliance is “on the right side of history” by imposing “unprecedented pressure” on Putin and helping Ukraine as it works to prevent further escalation.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dimitro Kuleba will attend the Brussels meeting, which will also be attended by representatives of the European Union, Georgia, Finland and Sweden. Japan, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea will participate telematically, “because this crisis has global implications”, in the words of Stoltenberg.

The meeting will serve to announce new aid to Georgia and Bosnia, under the premise that “it is better to give support sooner than later”. Stoltenberg pointed out that this is a “lesson” that can be drawn from the current situation in Ukraine.

(with information from EP)

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