“Russia is worse than ISIS

WORLD “Russia is worse than ISIS Baerbock announces tougher sanctions against Moscow and further aid for Kyiv Yesterday at 13:33 In response to the discovery of numerous bodies in the Ukrainian town of Bucha, the German government has announced tougher sanctions against Moscow and further military aid for Kyiv. The pictures of the "unbridled violence" from the suburbs of the capital Kyiv after the withdrawal of the Russian troops were "intolerable", wrote Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock (Greens) on Twitter on Sunday. "Those responsible for these war crimes must be held accountable." Russian President Vladimir Putin's "unbridled violence" "wipes out innocent families and knows no bounds," Baerbock wrote. Federal Minister of Economics Robert Habeck (Greens) told the "Bild" newspaper (Monday edition): "This terrible war crime cannot go unanswered." He thinks that sanctions should be tightened. This is being prepared with “our partners in the EU”. EU Council President Charles Michel had previously made a similar statement. The Russian army had recently withdrawn in the region around Kyiv. According to the Ukrainian authorities, almost 300 bodies were then found in Bucha. Reporters from the AFP news agency reported that many of the dead wore civilian clothes. They saw at least 20 bodies lying on a single street in Bucha. At least one of the dead had his hands tied. Allegations of serious war crimes Federal President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has also accused Russia of serious war crimes in Ukraine. "The war crimes committed by Russia are visible to the world," Steinmeier said on Sunday in Berlin. “The pictures from Bucha shock me, they shock us deeply.” Numerous bodies had previously been discovered in the suburb in north-west Kiev, which had been heavily fought over for weeks. About 280 people were buried in a mass grave. Steinmeier emphasized: "The representatives of Ukraine have every conceivable right to accuse Russia and to demand solidarity and support from their friends and partners." At the same time, the former SPD foreign minister assured that solidarity and support from Germany must and will continue. In Bucha civilians were lying on the streets and were shot as the soldiers retreated. EU Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen was also horrified after the discovery of numerous civilians killed in the region around Kyiv. "An independent investigation is urgently needed," wrote the German politician on Twitter on Sunday. At the same time, she assured that those responsible for war crimes would be held accountable. Numerous dead were found in Bucha near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv after the withdrawal of the Russian army. According to the authorities, 280 people have now been buried in mass graves. Ukrainian Presidential Advisor Mykhailo Podoliak shared a photo on Twitter showing shot dead men. One had his hands tied behind his back. The authenticity could not be independently verified. Podoljak wrote: "They were not in the military, they had no weapons, they posed no threat." "Russia is worse than ISIS, period" After the atrocities in the city of Bucha near Kyiv became known, the Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for tougher sanctions by the G7 states against Russia. “The Bucha massacre was premeditated. The Russians aim to wipe out as many Ukrainians as possible," Kuleba wrote on Twitter on Sunday. "We have to stop them and throw them out." Kuleba told the British broadcaster Times Radio that those killed were neither guerrilla fighters nor people who had resisted the Russians. They were killed out of anger and pure bloodlust. He added: "Russia is worse than ISIS, period." Kuleba announced that he would work to ensure that those responsible for atrocities in his country would be held accountable. This includes Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, whom he described as "one of the architects of Russia's aggression against Ukraine". Specifically, Kuleba called on the seven leading democratic economic powers to impose an oil, gas and coal embargo on Russia, to exclude all Russian banks from the Swift banking communications network and to close all ports for Russian ships and goods.