India condemned the killing of civilians in Bucha, Ukraine, at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) on Monday, calling for an independent U.N. inquiry.
Speaking at a UNSC meeting, convened by this month’s Council President, the U.K., India’s Permanent Representative to the UN (UNPR), T S Tirumurti, called the reports out of Bucha “deeply disturbing” and said India “unequivocally” condemned the killings, but did not blame Russia for the civilian deaths. Several other UNSC members also called for an inquiry into the killings in the Kyiv suburb, where bodies were found after the withdrawal of Russian forces, some with hands tied behind their back and appeared to have been shot at from close distance. UN Secretary General, Antonio Guterres, had also called for an independent inquiry earlier this week.
“Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing. We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation,” Mr. Tirumurti said.
Earlier in the morning, at the same meeting, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who joined the group by videoconference, expressed outrage for the killings in Bucha, for which he held Russia responsible, and played a video with gruesome images of corpses of men, women and children, some barely clothed, some burned. Russia has denied that it carried out what appear to be execution-style killings, alleging that the bodies were left in the area after its forces withdrew. Satellite image analysis by the New York Times suggests that many of the bodies had been in the area for weeks, while the Russians were in control.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Mr. Tirmuriti also called for guarantees for safe passage of humanitarian and medical supplies and said the Russia-Ukraine conflict had caused an increase in food and energy costs, particularly being felt by developing countries.
Without naming Russia, Mr. Tirumurti said that the international order was based on respect for the sovereignty of states and their territorial integrity, as well as international law and the U.N. Charter.
“When innocent human lives are at stake, diplomacy must prevail as the only viable option,” Mr Tirumurti said, adding that India had taken note of the recent talks between the Russian and Ukrainian sides.
