Canadian leaders condemn the killing of civilians in Ukraine after Russia’s retreat to the southeast revealed that Ukrainian cities were littered with corpses.
Prime Minister Justin Trinto wrote on Twitter on Sunday that Canadians “strongly condemn the killing of civilians in Ukraine, remain committed to the accountability of the Russian regime and will continue to do everything we can to support the people of Ukraine.”
“Those responsible for these heinous and horrific attacks will be brought to justice,” he wrote.
His tweet is linked to an earlier tweet by Secretary of State Melanie Joly.
“The news of the absurd killing of innocent civilians in Ukraine, including Bucha, is shocking,” he wrote.
“Canada will spare no effort, including war crimes investigations, to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”
Bucha Mayor Anatoly Fedork told Reuters that Russian soldiers had killed more than 300 people in the city. Many of those killed were lying on the streets for days, with photographs showing some civilians crumpled to the ground with bags of food still in their hands or bicycles overturned with them.
Locals hiding while Russian troops occupied the city told reporters that civilians had been killed indiscriminately, doing nothing to provoke an attack.
Bob Ray, Canada’s representative to the United Nations, wrote on Twitter that Russian President Vladimir Putin would be “forever linked to crimes of cruelty and savagery.”
“The images from Bucha are appalling,” Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland wrote on Twitter. “The guilty must – and will be brought to justice.”
Defense Minister Anita Anand joined her colleagues in expressing horror at the “violent killing of innocent civilians in Ukraine.”
“We will continue to exert maximum pressure on the Russian regime and assist Ukraine through economic, humanitarian and military assistance,” he wrote on Twitter. “Those responsible for these attacks will be brought to justice.”
With files from Reuters
We strongly condemn the killing of civilians in Ukraine, we remain committed to holding the Russian regime accountable and we will continue to do what we can to support the people of Ukraine. Those responsible for these heinous and horrific attacks will be brought to justice.
– Justin Trudeau (@JustinTrudeau) April 3, 2022