US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Thursday there are more credible reports of “torture, rape and killings” of Ukrainian civilians at the hands of Russians emerging every day.
“With each day, more and more credible reports of rape, killings [and] torture are emerging,” he told reporters at NATO following a meeting of foreign ministers.
Earlier this week, Ukrainian officials entered the town of Bucha, where the authorities said over 410 residents were killed by Russian forces. They reported mass graves, “executed” civilians, and shared images of bodies left on the streets, some with their hands bound behind their backs.
“For every Bucha, there are many more towns Russia has occupied and more towns it is still occupying. Places where we must assume Russian soldiers are committing more atrocities right now,” Blinken added.
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The top US diplomat stressed that Washington will not allow anything to stand in the way of sending Ukraine the weapons it needs to fight Russia’s invasion. “We’re not going to let anything stand in the way of getting Ukrainians what they need and what we believe can be effective.
Kyiv has called for immediate delivery of more weaponry as Moscow recently retreated from the Ukrainian capital as it launched an offensive on the east of the country.
“We are looking at what we believe they most need, to include new systems that have heretofore been provided. We’re listening to them in terms of their assessment of what they need… We have a strong sense of urgency,” Blinken said.
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