Von der Leyen and Borrell arrive in kyiv and visit a mass grave in Bucha

This Friday, the president of the European ComissionUrsula von der Leyen, and the high representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign and Security Policy, Josep Borrell, arrived today at Kyiv on a lightning visit to see first-hand the situation of the war on the ground. The president mentioned having seen “humanity in pieces” In the town of Buchawhere both representatives visited a common grave

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“We have seen all the coldness of the army of Putin. We have seen the recklessness and cold heart they have had in occupying this city. We have seen humanity in pieces in Bucha. The whole world is in mourning for what happened in Bucha”, said Von der Leyen from the Ukrainian town where at the beginning of this week the Russian indiscriminate killings of Ukrainian civilians were revealed, some handcuffed and with signs of torture.

Together with the Prime Minister of Slovakia, Eduard Heger, Von der Leyen and Borrell visited a mass grave in the courtyard of the church of Saint Andrew the First Called, where there were some 14 bodies in plastic bags that had been exhumed.

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“We have to defend the border with Europe, humanity and democracy and that is why we are here together with Ukraine”, added Von der Leyen.

During the visit, they were accompanied by the Ukrainian Prime Minister, Denys Shmyhal, and the Mayor of Bucha, Anatoliy Fedoruk.

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“We visited Bucha. I showed Von der Leyen, Borrell and Heger the atrocities committed by Russian military troops against Ukrainian civilians. We will never forgive the enemy for these crimes. We work with our European partners to stop the assailant as soon as possibleShmyhal wrote on Twitter.

Later, Von der Leyen, Borrell and Heger have placed candles in this church and have gone to Volknalna street, one of the most damaged during the occupation of Bucha and where there are still dozens of burned tanks.

The visit to the town of Bucha was the first stop on the European leaders’ trip to Ukraine, where they also plan to meet with the Ukrainian president, Volodimir Zelenski, as well as Shmyhal and other high-ranking government officials; to which they will transfer a “solidarity message” of the EU with the country after the Russian invasion.

The trip coincides with the approval last night in the EU of the fifth package of sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, which affects the energy sector for the first time by prohibiting the import of Russian coal, in addition to including an arms embargo against Russia and vetoing high-tech exports to that country.

“The latest sanctions follow the atrocities committed by the Russian armed forces in Bucha and other places under Russian occupation. The goal of our sanctions is to stop the inhumane and aggressive behavior of Russian troops and illegal aggression against Ukraine.”, Borrell shared on Twitter.

Source: Elcomercio

Deshawn