Although the video left many lost in the words, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky, reacted to the images. “This is genocide,” Zelensky said Sunday. “The extermination of the entire nation and people. We are the citizens of Ukraine. We have more than 100 nationalities. It is the destruction and extermination of all these nationalities,” he continued. The scenes have sparked international outrage, with Western leaders calling for war crimes investigations and increasing sanctions on Russia. The Russian Defense Ministry claimed that the extensive video was “fake”, saying that “no locals were subjected to violence” during the Russian occupation of Bukha. State Department spokesman Ned Price hinted that additional US action against Russia would be “very soon” when asked about Zelensky’s call for greater sanctions on the G7 in response to the latest atrocities.
HRW documents report war crimes by Russian forces
Rape, mass executions and unlawful violence are some of the war crimes allegedly committed by Russian forces against civilians in the occupied territories of Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Kiev regions of Ukraine, according to the Human Rights Watch.
The Independent Rights Group said in a statement on Sunday that it had documented war crimes allegations, which “include a case of repeated rape; two cases of summary execution, one by six men, the other by a man; and other cases of unlawful violence and threats against civilians between 27 February and 14 March 2022 “.
“Soldiers are also involved in looting civilian property, including food, clothing and firewood. Those who committed these abuses are responsible for war crimes,” he added.
CNN has not independently verified the details of these reports and has asked the Russian Ministry of Defense for comments on the allegations.
“The cases we have documented are tantamount to untold, deliberate cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians,” said Hugh Williamson, HRW’s director for Europe and Central Asia. “Rape, murder and other acts of violence against people detained by Russian forces should be investigated as war crimes.”
Odessa is under attack
The southern coastal city of Odessa came under attack on Sunday, with a local official saying a Russian missile strike had hit “critical infrastructure”. A gas depot in the city was still burning Monday morning, according to a CNN team at the scene, with a witness telling CNN that they heard six explosions at the fuel depot before sunrise. The coastal city was a place of relative calm during the Russian invasion and a refuge for displaced Ukrainians from areas that have seen the worst fighting. But Odessa has been preparing for a Russian attack for weeks, with the city center full of anti-tank barricades. “Odessa was attacked from the air. Some of the missiles were fired by our air defense system. Fire broke out in some areas,” the Odessa City Council said in its official Telegram account.
Russia is stepping up its attacks in eastern Ukraine
In the face of fierce Ukrainian resistance, US intelligence suggests that Russia has revised its invasion strategy to focus on control of Donbass and other areas in eastern Ukraine, with a target date of early May. Serhiy Haidai, head of the Luhansk regional military administration, said on Monday that the Russian army was gathering “a significant accumulation of troops and military equipment” in the area, in preparation for an apparent offensive. “Yes, I can confirm that there is a significant accumulation of troops and military equipment preparing for the great discovery (in the Luhansk region),” he told national television. “There was a revolutionary attempt at Rubizhne tonight, our defenders repulsed an attack. We are enduring, but we see that there is a large accumulation of troops.” The leaders of the Russian-backed separatist republics of Donetsk and Luhansk have previously announced “full mobilization” in the territories under their control. Haidai said the mobilization was ongoing, but added that the recruits were inexperienced and “used as food for cannons”. The Russian military says it is withdrawing troops from Kyiv and the northern Ukrainian city of Chernihiv to concentrate efforts in the Donbas region.
Two pro-Russian European leaders are set to be re-elected
Hungary’s authoritarian leader and longtime ally, Viktor Orban, has declared victory in the country’s parliamentary elections, closing for a fourth consecutive term in power. Orban’s Fidesz party had an impressive lead with 71% of the vote, the National Electoral Council announced on Sunday night. The election campaign was dominated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine, which brought Orban’s long-standing relationship with Russian President Vladimir Putin under control. In his winning speech, Orban called Zelensky one of the “opponents” he had to overcome during the campaign. Hungary relies heavily on Russian energy, and Orban has avoided the opportunity to condemn Putin’s attack on its neighboring state, complicating European Union (EU) efforts to present a united front against him. Meanwhile, incumbent Serbian President Aleksandar Vucic is set to win Sunday’s presidential election with 59.8% of the vote, according to Ipsos and CeSID polls, Reuters reports. The projection is based on a sample of the partial counting of constituencies. Vuτςiτς was running for a second five-year term with a promise of peace and stability as Russia invaded Ukraine. This has put Serbia under pressure from the West to choose between its traditional ties with Moscow and its aspirations to join the EU. Vuτςiτς acknowledged that the conflict in Ukraine had affected the campaign, and said that Serbia did not plan to deviate from the balancing act between the EU bid and close ties with Russia and China, a key investor. “We will maintain a policy that is important to Europeans, Russians and Americans, and that is … military neutrality,” Vucic told Reuters. “Serbia will try to maintain friendly and partnership relations in many areas with the Russian Federation,” he added. Serbia is almost entirely dependent on Russian gas, and its military maintains ties with the Russian military. Although Serbia has backed two UN resolutions condemning the invasion of Ukraine, it has refused to impose sanctions on Moscow, according to Reuters. CNN’s Tara John, Jonny Hallam, Nathan Hodge, Yulia Kesaieva, Rob Picheta and Balint Bardi contributed to the report.
