Reuters
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian attends a joint news conference with Finnish Foreign Minister Pekka Haavisto (not pictured) in Helsinki, Finland March 31, 2022. Lehtikuva/Emmi Korhonen via REUTERS
PARIS, April 3 (Reuters) – French Foreign Affairs Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Sunday condemned what he called the “massive abuses” committed by Russian forces” in Ukraine in recent weeks.
Le Drian highlighted the town of Bucha outside Kyiv, where Ukrainian authorities say a deliberate “massacre” was carried out by Russia.
The statement from Le Drian added that such abuses would constitute war crimes and that France will work with Ukrainian authorities and the International Criminal Court (ICC) to put on trial those responsible.
The Russian defence ministry in Moscow did not immediately reply to a request for comment when asked on Sunday about bodies found in Bucha. Moscow has previously repeatedly denied Ukrainian claims that it has targeted civilians and has rejected allegations of war crimes.
French President Emmanuel Macron said on Twitter that the images coming from Bucha were “unbearable”.
“The Russian authorities will have to answer for these crimes,” Macron added, expressing his compassion for the victims and his solidarity with Ukrainians.
Reporting by Mathieu Rosemain Editing by Kirsten Donovan and David Goodman
Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.