The United States and its allies prepare new sanctions against Russia after the murders of Bucha

LVIV, Ukraine, April 6 (Reuters) – The United States and its allies on Wednesday prepared new sanctions against Moscow over the killings of civilians in northern Ukraine, which President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has described as “war crimes” demanding commensurate punishment. .

Western sanctions on Russia over its nearly six-week invasion of its neighbor gained new momentum this week after civilians were discovered shot to death at close range in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, seized from Russian forces.

Russia denied targeting civilians in Bucha and described the evidence presented as a “monstrous forgery” staged by the West to discredit it. Read more

The new sanctions to be unveiled Wednesday are in part a response to Bucha, the White House said.

The measures, coordinated between Washington, the Group of Seven advanced economies and the European Union, will target Russian banks and officials and bar new investment in Russia, the White House said. Read more

The proposed EU sanctions, which all 27 member states of the bloc must approve, would ban the purchase of Russian coal and prevent Russian ships from entering EU ports.

EU executive Ursula von der Leyen said the bloc was also working to ban oil imports. Europe, which gets about a third of its natural gas from Russia, has been wary of the economic impact a complete ban on Russian energy would bring. Read more

But in a sign of strengthening the EU’s resolve, Germany’s foreign minister said the coal ban was the first step towards an embargo on all Russian imports of fossil fuels. Ukraine says banning Russian gas is vital to securing a deal to end the war at peace talks.

After an impassioned speech to the UN Security Council on Tuesday, Zelenskiy said new sanctions “against Russia must be commensurate with the gravity of the occupiers’ war crimes,” calling it a “turning point” for the western leaders.

New Zealand said on Wednesday it would impose a 35% tariff on all imports from Russia and extend export bans on industrial products related to strategic Russian industries.

“The images and reports emerging of the atrocities committed against civilians in Bucha and other regions of Ukraine are abhorrent and reprehensible, and New Zealand continues to respond to (Russian President Vladimir) Putin’s senseless acts of aggression,” he said. Foreign Minister Nanaia Mahuta in a statement. .

US chipmaker Intel Corp (INTC.O) said on Tuesday it had suspended business operations in Russia, joining a host of companies in leaving the country. Read more

In the small Russian town of Kaluga, thousands of auto workers have been laid off and food prices are soaring as Western sanctions hit its main foreign automakers. Read more

BURIAL OF BUCHA

Ukrainian authorities say between 150 and 300 bodies could be in a mass grave near a church in Bucha, north of the capital kyiv.

Satellite images taken weeks ago show bodies of civilians on a city street, a private US company said, disproving Russian claims that Ukrainian forces caused the deaths or that the scene was staged. Read more

Reuters reporters saw at least four victims shot in the head in Bucha, one with his hands tied behind his back.

Residents have recounted cases of several others killed, some shot in the eyes and one apparently beaten to death and mutilated.

On Tuesday, Ukrainian Serhii Lahovskyi buried the body of a childhood friend who had been shot in the mouth at close range after disappearing when Russian troops occupied the city. Read more

Lahovskyi and others grabbed shovels and dug a shallow grave in a grass verge. They used a rug to transport the remains, placing it in a ditch before covering it with wooden boards and shoveling dirt on top.

“Why did these animals shoot him like that?” Lahovskyi said, sobbing. “This is not Russia, this is a monster.”

Reuters was unable to independently verify the details of Lahovskyi’s account or who was responsible for the killings in Bucha.

CHANGING BATTLES

Since launching its invasion on February 24, Russia has failed to capture a single major city in what it calls a “special military operation” aimed at demilitarizing and “denazifying” Ukraine.

The Kremlin’s position is rejected by Ukraine, a parliamentary democracy, and the West as a pretext for an unprovoked invasion that has uprooted a quarter of the country’s population.

Russian forces mostly withdrew from the outskirts of kyiv last week after being bogged down by Ukrainian resistance. Russia has now shifted its offensive to the south and east of Ukraine.

The United States has agreed to provide an additional $100 million in assistance to Ukraine, including Javelin anti-armor systems, the Pentagon said Tuesday.

In the beleaguered southern port of Mariupol, where tens of thousands are trapped without access to food or water, a Dominica-flagged cargo ship sank Tuesday after being targeted by Russian missile attacks, the ship’s flag registry said. . Read more

Russia did not respond to a request for comment. Its armed forces said Tuesday that they had shot down two Ukrainian military transport helicopters that were trying to leave the city.

The general staff of Ukraine’s armed forces said the attacks in Mariupol were continuing, but gave no details.

In the east, where Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city, has been one of Russia’s main targets, the military staff said Ukrainian forces had destroyed three Russian tanks and about 20 other armored vehicles.

Additional reporting from Reuters bureaus; Written by Rami Ayyub and Michael Perry; Edited by Lincoln Feast

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