Bulgaria’s President among 11 CEE heads of state condemning Russia’s bombardments of Ukrainian cities
Bulgaria’s President Roumen Radev is among nine heads of state from the Bucharest Nine, supported by the presidents of North Macedonia and of Montenegro, who in a joint statement condemned Russia’s bombardment of Ukrainian cities, describing this as a war crime.
The October 11 statement was signed by the presidents of Romania, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, North Macedonia, Montenegro, Poland, Slovakia and Bulgaria.
The statement condemns the mass bombardments of Ukrainian cities recently carried out by Russia, “which constitute war crimes under international law”.
“We recall that war crimes and crimes against humanity are not subject to any statute of limitations and are covered by jurisdiction of courts all over the world,” the statement said.
“On behalf of our states we demand that Russia immediately stop attacking civilian targets. We will not cease our efforts to bring to court persons responsible of today’s crimes.
“We find any threats by Russian representatives to use nuclear weapons unacceptable. In this context, we reaffirm our commitment to protect our countries and allies,” the statement said.
On October 10, Bulgaria’s Foreign Ministry said in a message on Twitter: “Bulgaria strongly condemns Russia’s attacks against Ukrainian civilians and civilian infrastructure. Assaults on civilians are completely unacceptable and they must stop”.
An October 10 statement by the European External Action Service said that in a phone call with Ukraine’s Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba, EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell “condemned in the strongest possible terms the heinous attacks on civilians and civilian infrastructure by Russia in several Ukrainian cities and regions, including the centre of Kyiv, Kyiv region, Dnipro, Ivano Frankivsk region, Kharkiv region, Khmelnytsky region, Kirovohrad region, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Sumy region, Ternopil, Vinnitsya Zaporizhzhia region and Zhytomyr region”
“These are barbaric and cowardly attacks on purely civilian infrastructure, including homes, streets, parks, playgrounds and other public places, targeting innocent civilians on their way to work and school in the morning traffic,” Borrell said.
Borrell expressed his condolences to the victims of the Russian missile attacks, their families and the Ukrainian people.
“With these attacks Russia aims to do maximum harm. The indiscriminate targeting of civilians is prohibited under international humanitarian law and amounts to war crimes.”
Borrell made clear that Russia’s political and military leadership and its accomplice – regime of Lukashenko in Belarus as well as all those responsible and involved in these and other war crimes committed in Ukraine will be held accountable.
On October 10, at an emergency meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on Russia’s war on Ukraine, Ukraine’s ambassador Sergiy Kyslytsya said that about 84 missiles and around two dozen drones had deliberately targeted civilians and civilian infrastructure during the day’s multiple attacks on Ukrainian cities, including schools, universities and museums.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that Kremlin’s strikes against Ukraine “again place the stakes of Russia’s brutal war into stark relief”.
“Russian bombs hit children’s playgrounds and public parks in Kyiv; wave after wave of missiles struck Kyiv’s city streets and damaged heating and targets without military purpose throughout Ukraine,” Blinken said.
“Russia’s attacks are yet another reminder that its war against Ukraine presents a profound moral issue. No person of conscience – and no country of principle – could be unmoved by the devastation of these horrors. Ukraine, like every other country around the world, has the right to choose its own future and live peacefully inside its own internationally recognized borders,” he said.
“These strikes can break neither Ukraine’s spirit nor our resolve to support Ukraine. The United States will continue to provide vital economic, humanitarian, and security assistance so Ukraine can defend itself and take care of its people.
“There is one aggressor in this war: Russia. There is only one country escalating this war through its attempted annexations of Ukraine’s land and its repeated assaults on civilians: Russia. There is one person who can stop this war now and withdraw Russia’s forces: Vladimir Putin,” Blinken said.
(Screenshot from a video by Ukraine’s General Staff)
Please help keep The Sofia Globe’s independent journalism alive by clicking on the orange button below and signing up to become a supporter on patreon.com. Becoming a patron of The Sofia Globe costs as little as three euro a month or the equivalent in other currencies.
