Russia committing 'massive war crime' in Mariupol, says EU's top diplomat
Russia is guilty of a "massive war crime" in Mariupol and is violating "the laws of war", the EU's top diplomat said on Monday, as the bloc's foreign ministers gathered to discuss additional sanctions against Russia.
"Russia really doing a lot of war crimes," Josep Borrell told reporters ahead of a foreign ministers' meeting in Brussels.
"What's happening in Mariupol is a massive war crime, destroying everything, bombarding and killing everybody in an indiscriminate manner," he said, adding: "The city will be completely destroyed and people are dying."
Ministers were gathering in Brussels to discuss a fifth round of sanctions against Russia over its military invasion of Ukraine, ahead of a European Council summit later in the week in which US President Joe Biden will also take part.
So far the bloc has targeted Russia's Central Bank and other key banks, the steel sector and hundreds of individuals and entities they say are participating directly or indirectly in the military assault. This includes Russian President Vladimir Putin, Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and some prominent oligarchs and businesspeople.
Russian troops have encircled the strategic port city of Mariupol for about two weeks with hundreds of thousands of residents now left without running water and electricity.
Ceasefires to allow for the evacuation of civilians and to permit the delivery of humanitarian aid have repeatedly been broken.
Local authorities say more than 2,400 civilians have been killed as Russian shelling hit civilian buildings including a school and a theatre where people were sheltering from the fighting, and that many were buried in mass graves.
They have also rejected a Russian ultimatum to surrender by Monday 05:00 local time.
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