Canadian Foreign Minister Mélanie Joly on Monday denounced “war crimes” and “crimes against humanity” after the discovery of numerous bodies wearing civilian clothes in Boutcha, near kyiv, and warned that Canada would impose new sanctions “soon”.
This discovery sparked widespread outrage abroad, including from US President Joe Biden, who called for a “war crimes trial”.
“What happened over the weekend is completely scandalous, unjustifiable and shocking,” said Minister Joly during a press briefing on the sidelines of a trip to Finland.
“These are clearly war crimes and crimes against humanity,” she stressed before attributing them to Russian soldiers.
In the wake of the press conference, the minister denounced on Twitter “the atrocities committed by Russian forces against innocent civilians in Boutcha and across Ukraine”.
At least 410 civilians dead
According to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Iryna Venediktova, the remains of 410 civilians were found in Boutcha and other territories of the kyiv region recently retaken from Russian troops.
Moscow for its part denied having killed civilians in Boutcha, the Kremlin and the Russian Minister of Foreign Affairs, Sergei Lavrov, citing “falsifications” and stagings for the press.
On Monday afternoon, Canadian MPs passed a motion condemning “crimes against humanity and war crimes committed in Ukraine.”
The motion, tabled on the initiative of members of the New Democratic Party (NDP), was unanimously adopted by parliamentarians, who also observed a moment of silence in tribute to the civilians who lost their lives in Boutcha.
Like the United Nations and several Western countries, Canada is calling for an investigation by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into the attacks in Boutcha and elsewhere in Ukraine.
The ICC, which is based in The Hague, has been investigating allegations of war crimes in the country since March 3.
New sanctions “soon”
New sanctions against Russia were also discussed Monday within the European Union, demanded in particular by France and Germany.
“There will be more Canadian sanctions against Russian and Belarusian entities and persons,” warned Mélanie Joly. “We will announce it shortly,” she added, calling for the G7 to “do more.”
These measures will target 9 Russians and 9 Belarusians, who are “close collaborators” of the two regimes, according to a press release.
In total, since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in late February, Canada has sanctioned over 700 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus.