Putin committing war crimes: PM

Boris Johnson accused Vladimir Putin of committing war crimes as he condemned “abhorrent” attacks on the citizens of Ukraine.
Watch more of our videos on Shots! 
and live on Freeview channel 276
Visit Shots! now

The UK fears the Russian leader will unleash even greater force against Kyiv and other Ukrainian cities in the coming days.

The prime minister spoke to Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky yesterday morning, promising further support and weapons for the forces resisting Russia’s military.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Strikes that damaged the Babi Yar Holocaust memorial in Kyiv and the central square in Kharkiv have caused revulsion, and Western allies fear it is a sign of a shift in Russian tactics towards indiscriminate targeting of urban areas.

Destroyed buildings seen in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, UkraineDestroyed buildings seen in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, Ukraine
Destroyed buildings seen in the town of Bucha, close to the capital Kyiv, Ukraine

At Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Johnson said: “Putin has gravely miscalculated; in his abhorrent assault on a sovereign nation, he has underestimated the extraordinary fortitude of the Ukrainian people and the unity and resolve of the free world in standing up to his barbarism.”

More than 2,000 civilians have died since the invasion, Ukraine’s state emergency service said, although that figure has not been independently verified.

The chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, Karim Khan, has said he plans to open an investigation into events in Ukraine and Mr Johnson told MPs: “What we have seen already from Vladimir Putin’s regime in the use of the munitions that they have already been dropping on innocent civilians, in my view, already fully qualifies as a war crime.”

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

It is the first time No 10 has explicitly stated that opinion.

Asked whether Mr Johnson regarded the Russian attack on the Kyiv holocaust memorial at Babi Yar or the targeting of apartment blocks as war crimes, the prime minister’s official spokesman said: “I think all of those you’ve listed could fall in that category.

“Obviously, formally it will be for a criminal court to make that ruling but I think no-one can be in any doubt that what we’re seeing daily, almost hourly now, are horrific acts that would certainly appear to be war crimes.”

The prime minister said “the vice is tightening on the Putin regime” as he was urged by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer to ramp up sanctions against oligarch allies of the Russian leader.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said Mr Putin knows “no limit” and will seek to “pummel” cities in tactics reminiscent of medieval siege warfare.

Russian troops have entered Ukraine’s second city Kharkiv following days of intensive bombardment.

The Ministry of Defence said the latest intelligence suggested Russian forces had reportedly also moved into the centre of Kherson in south Ukraine.

Artillery and air strikes have targeted built-up areas in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mariupol and Chernihiv.

But Mr Wallace said the advance of Russian forces continued to be slowed by a combination of overstretched logistics, poor morale and brave resistance by Ukrainian fighters.