Canada considers expelling Russian diplomats over atrocities in Ukraine

OTTAWA—Canada says it is considering following the lead of other countries which expelled Russian diplomats, and will soon sanction 18 more Russian and Belarusian individuals as the world expresses revulsion at civilian casualties in Ukraine.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Tuesday the images emerging from Bucha in Ukraine are “absolutely horrific.”

“The use of civilian murders and sexual violence, systemic rape to attack a Ukrainian population is something that was obviously permitted or encouraged by Russian authorities,” Trudeau said as he entered the Commons.

“Russia must be held accountable for each rape, each murder in Bucha. That’s why we’ve gone to the International (Criminal) Court in The Hague,” he said. “That’s why we are demanding that Russia be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council.”

Trudeau’s comments came a day after the Commons voted unanimously to condemn Russia’s actions in Bucha, and shortly after an extraordinary debate unfolded Tuesday morning at the United Nations Security Council ahead of a vote on whether to suspend Russia from the UN Human Rights Council.

At the UN in New York, Russia and Ukraine presented diametrically opposed versions of the massacres in Bucha and Mariupol — a city that the UN emergency relief co-ordinator Martin Griffiths described as the “centre of Hell.”

Griffiths, a UN under-secretary-general, is in talks with Vladimir Putin’s government to allow a “humanitarian ceasefire” to give aid convoys and civilians safe passage.

Ukraine’s President, Volodymyr Zelenskyy, appeared via video at the security council to demand Russia be brought to justice for “the most terrible war crimes… we see since the end of World War Two.”

He issued a sharp rebuke of the UN’s failure to halt Russia’s aggression despite what he said is clear evidence of atrocities by Russian troops.

He blasted Russia’s veto at the security council saying it allows Moscow to block action to curb its aggression and renders the body powerless to perform its main purpose to guarantee global security.

“Where is the peace?” I have asked. “It is obvious that the key institution of the world … simply cannot work effectively.”

Zelenskyy warned if the UN does not act, “countries will rely only on the power of their own arms to ensure their security and not on international law.”

“Ladies and gentlemen, I’m ready to close up the UN. Do you think that the time of international law is gone? If your answer is no, then you need to act immediately.”

Zelenskyy directed the security council members and non-permanent members, who were discussing a move to suspend Russia from the Geneva-based Human Rights Council, to screen a 75-second video — a graphic photo catalog of civilian deaths in Bucha, Irpin, and Mariupol — which the Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya denied were the result of Russian actions.

Despite mounting evidence to the contrary, Nebenzya blamed Ukrainian security forces whose “mop-up” operations he said were responsible for the death of Ukrainian civilians and the production of “staged videos” to dupe the West. He said over 600,000 people “have been evacuated to Russia, including over 119,000 children” which he said was not “abduction” but “rather the voluntary decision by these people.”

He said Russia has not abandoned its goal: “We need to cut out the malignant Nazi tumor that is consuming Ukraine and would in time begin to consume Russia and we will achieve that goal. I hope sooner rather than later because there is no other outcome.”

The scenes out of Bucha were condemned by all permanent and non-permanent members of the security council Tuesday to varying degrees, with Russia’s allies China, Brazil and India calling for independent investigations and respect for humanitarian norms.

Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly was in meetings in Germany Tuesday and had announced additional sanctions a day earlier. But the list has not been released because her office de ella said the federal government awaits the governor-general’s final signature on the list approved by cabinet.

Joly said she would consult her cabinet colleagues on the issue of expelling Russian diplomats — as Lithuania and Germany did Monday, and several other countries including Italy, Spain, Estonia and Latvia did Tuesday — to “make sure that we react promptly.”

Slovenia, Denmark, Romania, Sweden, France and the European Union have also joined the latest round of expulsions.

But since Russia invaded Ukraine on Feb. 24, the federal government has rejected calls by the Conservative-led Official opposition to eject Russian diplomats, suggesting it would lead to retaliation. Ottawa wishes to retain its diplomatic presence in Moscow to ensure an accurate flow of information, Joly has said.