A boy walks past graves with the bodies of civilians who locals say were killed by Russian soldiers in Bucha, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine, on April 4. STRINGER / Reuters
Foreign Minister Melanie Jolie accused Moscow of committing war crimes by killing civilians in Ukraine and called on International Criminal Court investigators to travel to the sites of the alleged atrocities as soon as possible.
But she stopped expelling Russian diplomats on Monday, as did Germany, France and Lithuania.
Ms Jolie spoke of stories of alleged killings of civilians by Russian soldiers in Ukrainian cities such as Bucha, where hundreds of locals were found dead after five weeks of Russian occupation.
“These are obviously war crimes; these are obviously crimes against humanity, “she told reporters during a press conference in Helsinki with her Finnish counterpart. “These actions cannot go unpunished.”
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In addition, on Monday the House of Commons unanimously adopted a proposal for Bucha, saying that “in the light of the horrific and horrific reports” MPs “strongly condemn” the crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by Russian President Vladimir Putin, the Russian military and supporters from Russia forces.
The proposal, made by NDP external critic Heather McPherson, also called on the federal government to provide additional humanitarian, military and economic support to Ukraine and to impose criminal sanctions “on the Russian regime and the oligarchs who support it.”
Germany said on Monday it would expel 40 Russian diplomats, with Foreign Minister Analena Burbock citing the killing of civilians in Bucha.
“The images from Bucha testify to the incredible brutality of the Russian leadership and those who follow its propaganda,” Ms Burbock said in a statement.
France has said it will expel 35 Russian diplomats over the war in Ukraine, and Lithuania has announced it is expelling Russia’s ambassador to Lithuania and recalling its envoy to Moscow.
Asked about the expulsions, Ms Jolie said she would “take stock” of them and talk to “key cabinet ministers” in the Canadian government “to ensure we are doing the right thing”.
She said Canada would impose more sanctions on individuals and companies linked to Mr Putin’s entourage and the war against Ukraine.
Ms Jolie said the Group of Seven industrialized countries needed to implement and better coordinate sanctions.
She said she intended to impose new sanctions on nine Russians and nine Belarusians who are “close collaborators of the Russian and Belarusian regimes” for “facilitating and violating Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence.” The Ministry of Global Affairs could not immediately provide the names of the victims.
Ms McPherson of the NDP, for her part, called for Russia to be removed from the UN Human Rights Council. The United States said Monday it would ask the UN General Assembly to do so.
A two-thirds majority of the 193-member assembly in New York could stop the state from persistently committing gross and systematic human rights violations.
The Commons proposal also called on the federal government to help ensure that Russia is held accountable for these crimes before the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.
Ottawa is sending a specialized team of RCMP investigators to The International Criminal Court in The Hague to gather evidence of potential Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
The RCMP will also be tasked with interviewing Ukrainians who came to Canada for evidence of alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces, Public Security Minister Marco Mendicino said last month.
Ukrainian servicemen walk down a ruined street in Bucha on April 4th. Anastasia Vlasova / Getty Images
The chief prosecutor of the ICC, British lawyer Karim Khan, said there were grounds to believe that war crimes had been committed against Ukrainian civilians after Russia invaded the country on 24 February.
Mr Khan announced on 28 February that he would investigate alleged atrocities in Ukraine at the request of 39 ICC member states, including Canada. He will look at possible war crimes on both sides of the conflict since Russia’s annexation of Crimea in 2014.
The United States, Russia and Ukraine are not members of the tribunal. Mr Putin removed the country from the ICC in 2016 and said Moscow would not extradite suspects. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has authorized the court to investigate its territory, and a team of ICC investigators is gathering evidence in Ukraine.
The International Criminal Court became operational in 2002 and was modeled on the Nuremberg Trials, when the United States and its allies persecuted top Nazi leaders in 1945 for war crimes.
With a Reuters report
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