Atrocities of Russian occupiers show true face of this war, perpetrators to be held accountable

High Representative of the European Union Josep Borrell, on behalf of the entire Community, issued a statement in which he called the atrocities of the Russian occupiers the "true face" of the war that Russia is waging against Ukraine and assured that all those responsible will be brought to justice.

The text of the statement was distributed on Monday in Brussels.

"The European Union condemns in the strongest possible terms the reported atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in a number of occupied Ukrainian towns, that have now been liberated. Haunting images of large numbers of civilian deaths and casualties, as well as destruction of civilian infrastructures show the true face of the brutal war of aggression Russia is waging against Ukraine and its people. The massacres in the town of Bucha and other Ukrainian towns will be inscribed in the list of atrocities committed on European soil," the message said.

Borrell blamed Russian authorities for these for "atrocities, committed while they had effective control of the area", as these areas were subject to international law of occupation.

"The perpetrators of war crimes and other serious violations as well as the responsible government officials and military leaders will be held accountable. The European Union supports all measures to ensure accountability for human rights violations and violations of international humanitarian law in Ukraine by Russian Armed forces," the text says.

In this regard, Borrell stated that the EU fully supports the investigation launched by the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court into war crimes and crimes against humanity, as well as the work of the Commission of Inquiry. "The EU is assisting the Ukrainian Prosecutor General and Civil Society focused on collection and preservation of the evidences of the war crimes. We stand in full solidarity with Ukraine and the Ukrainian people in these sombre hours for the whole world. The EU will continue to firmly support Ukraine and will advance, as a matter of urgency, work on further sanctions against Russia. President Putin must stop this war immediately and unconditionally," the high representative said.