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West pledges more military aid to Ukraine as Russian invasion persists

14.04.2022 11:30
Western governments have pledged more military assistance to Ukraine as it fights to defend itself against Russia's brutal invasion.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan (centre), inspects a mass grave site in the Ukrainian town of Bucha near the capital Kyiv on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, amid mounting reports of Russian war crimes.
The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan (centre), inspects a mass grave site in the Ukrainian town of Bucha near the capital Kyiv on Wednesday, April 13, 2022, amid mounting reports of Russian war crimes.Photo: EPA/OLEG PETRASYUK

The United States on Wednesday announced an extra USD 800 million in military aid, including artillery systems, armoured personnel carriers and helicopters.

France and Germany have also pledged more assistance, the Reuters news agency reported.

Polish President Andrzej Duda said on a visit to Kyiv with his Lithuanian, Latvian and Estonian counterparts that “those responsible for crimes against the Ukrainian people must be punished by international tribunals.”

He also appealed for “sanctions that will exclude Russia” from the international community.

Meanwhile, US President Joe Biden described Russia's actions in Ukraine as amounting to genocide, news outlets reported.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky warned in a video address on Wednesday night that Russian troops were "stepping up activity in the eastern and southern directions," while "trying to retaliate for their defeats."

Zelensky said: "Rocket bombings and artillery strikes continue. New columns of equipment are being brought in. They are looking for reserves. They are trying to recruit residents of the south of our country - that is, from these temporarily occupied areas in addition to the so-called mobilization in certain districts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions."

Zelensky also said in his address that a group of forensic experts from the International Criminal Court, led by chief prosecutor Karim Khan, had visited the town of Bucha near Kyiv, where dozens of bodies and mass graves of civilians were discovered after the withdrawal of Russian troops.

"Responsibility for the Russian military for war crimes is inevitable," Zelensky said in his daily speech to the nation.

He added: "We will drag them all to the tribunal. And not only for what was done in Bucha."

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Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters, ukrinform.net