Biden, World Leaders Condemn Russian 'War Crimes' in Ukraine

American President Joe Biden joined leaders around the world Monday in calling for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The appeal for justice followed the publication of pictures taken in towns around Kyiv that Russia had attacked. They included many images of dead civilians².

"You saw what happened in Bucha," Biden told reporters on Monday. He called Putin "a war criminal," adding, "we have to gather all the detail so this can be an actual -- have a war crimes trial."

Several independent news organizations reported and showed images of civilian¹ deaths over the weekend. Ukrainian officials said the bodies of 410 civilians were found in towns around Kiyv after its forces recaptured the area from the Russian military.

In the town of Bucha

About 300 bodies have been discovered in Bucha, about 40 kilometers northwest of Kyiv.

A resident told The Associated Press (AP) that Russian troops went building to building and took people out of their hiding places. He said the soldiers seized and searched phones from the captured. Then the man said the troops would either shoot the civilian or remove them.

The resident refused to give his name out of fear for his safety.

Another resident, Hanna Herega, said she saw Russian troops kill her neighbor. She said they shot him when he went out to gather wood for heating fuel.

"They hit him a bit above the heel, crushing the bone, and he fell down," she said. "Then they shot off his left leg completely, with the boot. Then they shot him all over."

The AP said its reporters saw the bodies of at least 21 people in several places around Bucha. A group of nine people in civilian clothes appeared to have been killed at close range. Their bodies were around an area that residents said Russian troops had used as a base. At least two had their hands tied behind their backs, one was shot in the head, and another's legs were tied.

Taras Shapravskyi is the town's deputy mayor. He told Reuters that an examination of the bodies shows at least 50 civilians had been executed.

In Motyzhyn, about 50 kilometers west of Kyiv, residents told the AP that Russian troops killed the town's mayor, her husband and her son and threw their bodies into a hole.

An AP worker reporting from the site of the hole said there were four bodies inside. The reporter said it appeared all had been shot from a very short distance. The hands of one man had been tied behind his back and a plastic tie covered his eyes.

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called the Russian actions "genocide" after he visited the area.

Russian response

Russia has denied all accusations⁴ of wrongdoing in its war against Ukraine. The defense⁵ ministry⁶ said Sunday "not a single local resident suffered from any violent actions" when its forces were in control of the Kyiv area.

The ministry said Russian troops provided 452 tons of humanitarian⁷ aid to civilians around Kyiv before their withdrawal⁸ on March 30. Russia has called its invasion of Ukraine a "special military operation."

Putin spokesman Dmitry Peskov denied the Ukrainian accusation³ on Monday. He said that photo and video materials from the area were "manipulations."

Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov claimed that they were "staged" to bring anti-Russian feelings. A Russian law enforcement agency added that it is investigating "false information" about Russian forces. Russia has also called for a meeting of the United Nations Security Council to discuss the issue.

International outrage⁹

The U.N. High Commissioner¹⁰ for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet said Monday she is "horrified¹¹ by the images of civilians lying dead on the streets and in improvised¹³ graves." She said that reports from Ukraine raised questions about "possible war crimes," and "serious violations¹⁴ of international human rights law."

Kosovo's Prime Minister Albin Kurti said, "Russia must be held accountable," for what he described as the "Bucha Massacre¹⁵." He said the images showed a situation similar to that which his own people faced in war against Serbian forces 23 years ago.

Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki of neighboring Poland condemned¹⁶ the Russian action in Ukraine. "This is genocide, and this crime must be tried as the crime of genocide," he said.

From Paris, French President Emmanuel Macron said, "There is clear evidence of war crimes. It was the Russian army that was in Bucha." He added that France will also work with partners, especially Germany, to bring more economic pressures against Russia.

Words in This Story

resident - n. someone who live in a particular place

manipulation - n. changing or controlling something for a particular purpose

stage - v. to arrange something for a purpose

improvise¹² - v. to make or create something by using whatever is available

grave - n. a hole in the ground for burying body

1 civilian   

adj.平民的，民用的，民众的

参考例句：

• There is no reliable information about civilian casualties.关于平民的伤亡还没有确凿的信息。
• He resigned his commission to take up a civilian job.他辞去军职而从事平民工作。

2 civilians   

平民，百姓( civilian的名词复数 )； 老百姓

参考例句：

• the bloody massacre of innocent civilians 对无辜平民的血腥屠杀
• At least 300 civilians are unaccounted for after the bombing raids. 遭轰炸袭击之后，至少有300名平民下落不明。

3 accusation   

n.控告，指责，谴责

参考例句：

• I was furious at his making such an accusation.我对他的这种责备非常气愤。
• She knew that no one would believe her accusation.她知道没人会相信她的指控。

4 accusations   

n.指责( accusation的名词复数 )；指控；控告；（被告发、控告的）罪名

参考例句：

• There were accusations of plagiarism. 曾有过关于剽窃的指控。
• He remained unruffled by their accusations. 对于他们的指控他处之泰然。

5 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

6 ministry   

n.(政府的)部；牧师

参考例句：

• They sent a deputation to the ministry to complain.他们派了一个代表团到部里投诉。
• We probed the Air Ministry statements.我们调查了空军部的记录。

7 humanitarian   

n.人道主义者，博爱者，基督凡人论者

参考例句：

• She has many humanitarian interests and contributes a lot to them.她拥有很多慈善事业，并作了很大的贡献。
• The British government has now suspended humanitarian aid to the area.英国政府现已暂停对这一地区的人道主义援助。

8 withdrawal   

n.取回，提款；撤退，撤军；收回，撤销

参考例句：

• The police were forced to make a tactical withdrawal.警方被迫进行战术撤退。
• They insisted upon a withdrawal of the statement and a public apology.他们坚持要收回那些话并公开道歉。

9 outrage   

n.暴行，侮辱，愤怒；vt.凌辱，激怒

参考例句：

• When he heard the news he reacted with a sense of outrage.他得悉此事时义愤填膺。
• We should never forget the outrage committed by the Japanese invaders.我们永远都不应该忘记日本侵略者犯下的暴行。

10 commissioner   

n.（政府厅、局、处等部门）专员，长官，委员

参考例句：

• The commissioner has issued a warrant for her arrest.专员发出了对她的逮捕令。
• He was tapped for police commissioner.他被任命为警务处长。

11 horrified   

a.(表现出)恐惧的

参考例句：

• The whole country was horrified by the killings. 全国都对这些凶杀案感到大为震惊。
• We were horrified at the conditions prevailing in local prisons. 地方监狱的普遍状况让我们震惊。

12 improvise   

v.即兴创作；临时准备，临时凑成

参考例句：

• If an actor forgets his words，he has to improvise.演员要是忘记台词，那就只好即兴现编。
• As we've not got the proper materials,we'll just have to improvise.我们没有弄到合适的材料，只好临时凑合了。

13 improvised   

a.即席而作的,即兴的

参考例句：

• He improvised a song about the football team's victory. 他即席创作了一首足球队胜利之歌。
• We improvised a tent out of two blankets and some long poles. 我们用两条毛毯和几根长竿搭成一个临时帐蓬。

14 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

15 massacre   

n.残杀，大屠杀；v.残杀，集体屠杀

参考例句：

• There was a terrible massacre of villagers here during the war.在战争中，这里的村民惨遭屠杀。
• If we forget the massacre,the massacre will happen again!忘记了大屠杀，大屠杀就有可能再次发生！

16 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。