The Czech Republic, which currently holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, called on Saturday for the creation of an international court for war crimes, after the discovery of hundreds of bodies buried in Ukraine.
The appeal comes after the discovery of some 450 graves on the outskirts of Izium, a town in eastern Ukraine that the Russians seized last week, with some of the exhumed bodies showing signs of torture.
“In the 21st century, these attacks on the civilian population are unthinkable and heinous,” Czech Foreign Minister Jan Lipavsky said on his Twitter account.
“We must not ignore it. We are in favor of the punishment of all war criminals”, he added, insisting: “I call for the rapid establishment of a special international court to judge the crime of aggression”.
According to investigators, some exhumed bodies had their hands tied behind their backs. Bodies of children were also found.
The Czech Republic, a former communist country and now a member of the European Union and NATO, took in some 400,000 Ukrainian refugees and provided some 150 million euros worth of military aid to Ukraine, invaded by Russia on February 24.
So far, some 450 graves have been located in the vicinity of Izium, in the area liberated by the Ukrainian troops from Kharkov.
According to Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelensky, Russian troops there committed “atrocities” comparable to those revealed in Bucha, the city on the outskirts of kyiv, where hundreds of bodies of civilians were found in April with signs of torture and apparently executed.
Ukraine, backed by a UN commission and international investigators, accuses Moscow of war crimes in the city outside the capital.
Source: TSF
