U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken gave virtual remarks on Russia’s accountability for crimes in Ukraine at the Bucha summit in Kyiv on March 31, chastising Vladimir Putin's armed forces for its "horrors."
According to a release by the U.S. State Department that included a video of the remarks as well as a transcription, Blinken thanked President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba for bringing together friends and partners of Ukraine for the summit that he called “important and solemn.”
"The horrors Russia inflicted on Bucha and continues to inflict on other Ukrainian cities is unacceptable,” Blinken said on Twitter on March 31. “We will not forget Ukrainians who have suffered and were murdered. We join countries and organizations worldwide to push for accountability and demand justice for Ukrainians.”
Blinken recalled that a year ago Ukrainian forces discovered a massacre in Bucha where hundreds of men, women and children were killed indiscriminately by Russian forces. He said that the world witnessed evidence of the crimes through “searing” photographs and videos. This included civilians being executed with hands behind their backs, a children’s summer camp turned into a torture chamber and mass graves.
There were also testimonies of survivors telling tales of rape by Russian soldiers and families who were not allowed to bury loved ones. Blinken said on one street they found 40 dead bodies. He said the testimonies showed that the lives of the survivors would never be the same. Families were torn apart and communities were ruined.
According to Zelenskyy’s website, the Bucha Declaration on Accountability for the Worst Crimes in Ukraine had been signed by the presidents of Ukraine, Poland and Lithuania, along with other officials, in a summit in Bucha. It called for justice for the victims of the Bucha massacre and other atrocities committed by Russia.
They vowed to support Ukraine’s efforts to hold those responsible for crimes accountable and help Ukraine defend its sovereignty and territorial integrity. The declaration calls on the international community to support Ukraine and take action against Russia for actions in Ukraine as well.
The summit was held on the anniversary of the Bucha massacre where Russian forces killed hundreds of Bucha residents.
