KYIV: Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was responsible for “war crimes”, during a visit to Ukraine where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“It is clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for vile war crimes,” Trudeau said at a press conference with Ukraine leaders.
“There must be accountability,” he added, after the G7 meeting including the President of Ukraine.Earlier that day, Trudeau visited Irpin outside Kyiv, a city destroyed by a fierce battle between Ukraine and Russian troops before its occupation in March by Moscow, the mayor of the city.
“I witnessed firsthand the brutality of Russia’s illegal war,” he told reporters.Mayor Irpin Oleksandr Markushyn posted photos on official social media channels with Trudeau pictures that wrote that he “came to Irpin to see with his own eyes all the horrors that had been done by Russian invaders to our city”.
Trudeau’s visit came on the same day, US First Lady Jill Biden traveled without notice to Ukraine.Markushyn thanked the Prime Minister for “the support shown by Canada to Ukraine today”.”We believe in sustainable cooperation between our countries for the reconstruction of Ukraine cities after our victory,” he added.
Irpin counted around 60,000 residents before Russian President Vladimir Putin launched his attack in Ukraine on February 24.Ukraine accused Russian cruelty forces of civilians – as in Bucha, a city close to Kyiv – after the discovery of dozens of corpses wearing civil clothing in areas that were held then abandoned by Russian army.
Some Western political leaders including UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recently visited Irpin and other residential areas around the Kyiv capital where Russian troops were accused of killing hundreds of civilians.Trudeau joined Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland and Foreign Minister Melanie Joly, who together also raised the Maple Leaf flag on the Canadian mission in Kyiv.Canada “Restanding Operations in Kyiv Today”, said Trudeau.