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Annalena Baerbock (at a meeting with Wladimir Klitschko on Friday)
Photo: IMAGO/Florian Gaertner / IMAGO/photothek
In the Ukraine war, the pictures from the city of Bucha, which have been shared on the Internet since Saturday afternoon, are causing horror in Ukraine and beyond - and could result in further measures by the West against Russia.
Federal Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) announced tougher sanctions against Moscow and further aid for the Ukrainian military.
Baerbock tweeted that the images of the "unbridled violence" in Bucha after the Russian troops withdrew were "unbearable."
“Those responsible for these war crimes must be held accountable.
(...) We will tighten the sanctions against Russia and give Ukraine even more support in its defense.«
A video by the Ukrainian military from the Kiev suburb shows dead bodies on the streets, apparently civilians.
Reports and photos from international journalists confirm the atrocities, the SPIEGEL reporter Thore Schröder reports of a dead man with his arms tied behind his back, others were apparently shot off their bikes, their purchases still at their side.
Gunshot wounds to the head were evident on most of the bodies.
The human rights organization Human Rights Watch (HRW) then accused the Russian army of war crimes such as executions and looting.
A report published in Warsaw on Sunday cited cases around the cities of Kyiv, Kharkiv and Chernihiv.
According to the organization, the basis for this is the questioning of ten eyewitnesses, victims and residents.
The incidents in Bucha on March 4 are also listed.
"The cases we have documented represent untold, willful acts of cruelty and violence against Ukrainian civilians," said HRW Europe Director Hugh Williamson.
"Rape, murder and other acts of violence against people by Russian troops should be investigated as war crimes."
280 people buried in mass graves
According to Ukrainian authorities, 280 people have now been buried in mass graves in Bucha.
"They weren't in the military, they had no weapons, they posed no threat," Ukrainian presidential aide Mykhailo Podoliak tweeted.
Ukrainian Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal wrote on Twitter: »Ukraine will not forget the crimes of the occupiers.
We will not rest until the guilty are punished."
You can read all the important developments on the Ukraine war here.
Before Baerbock, EU Council President Charles Michel was "shaken" by the pictures and announced a reaction from the European Union, as he tweeted.
The EU supports Ukraine and NGOs to collect evidence of persecution before international courts.
"More EU sanctions and support are on the way," Michel tweeted, writing of "atrocities committed by the Russian army."
hba/dpa/AFP