The EU is going to punish nine people linked to the massacre in Buča and other Kremlin propagandists. There is also a huge loan and a new package of sanctions in play.
The European Union will impose sanctions on nine people accused of committing war crimes related to the massacre in the Ukrainian city of Bucha, French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot announced on Monday in Brussels. TASR informs about it with reference to the Reuters agency.
- The European Union will impose sanctions on nine people connected to the Buče massacre.
- EU ministers are negotiating a loan to Ukraine and the blocked twentieth sanctions package.
- The Union is preparing sanctions against alleged Kremlin propagandists, including French Russian Adrien Bocquet.
- The heads of EU diplomacy will meet in Buča on March 31 for a memorial service.
- The published evidence from Buča sparked worldwide outrage and investigations into possible war crimes.
Barrot’s statement came while arriving at a meeting of the EU Council for Foreign Affairs. Also on the agenda of the meeting is the availability of a loan for Ukraine in the amount of 90 billion euros and the unblocking of the 20th package of anti-Russian sanctions, which until now has been blocked by Hungary due to the stopped transit of oil through the Druzhba pipeline.
Sanctions for propagandists
According to the French minister, the EU will probably also impose sanctions on several alleged Kremlin propagandists, including French-Russian citizen Adrien Bocquet. According to Barrot, he is recruiting foreign fighters to fight against Ukraine and is “responsible for glorifying war crimes as well as disinformation campaigns in Europe and Africa.”
“Each new sanction is a reminder: war crimes will not be forgotten and will not go unpunished,” Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andriy Sybiha responded, thanking his French partner. In a post on the social network, X also added that Russian criminals must be held accountable for their actions.
The anniversary of the massacres in Buča
The heads of diplomacy of the EU member states are planning to meet in Buča on March 31 to commemorate four years since the massacre of civilians there during the Russian occupation at the beginning of the war in Ukraine. This was reported by the AFP agency on Friday.
After the retreat of Russian troops from Buča after a month of occupation, AFP journalists also entered this suburb of Kyiv, who then reported that they saw the bodies of at least 20 civilians lying on the street with gunshot wounds. Some of them had their hands tied behind their backs.
Evidence of war crimes
It was the first of a series of similar findings in cities from which Russian troops withdrew in the spring of 2022. The images from Buča and other cities caused outrage in the international community and led to investigations into suspected war crimes.
Moscow denied responsibility and accused Ukraine of staging the dead in the streets and mass graves.
