United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres called the war in Ukraine “evil” while visiting the country Thursday.
“I must say what I feel. I imagined my family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black,” he said in the capital city of Kyiv after visiting other areas devastated by the war. “I see my granddaughters running away in panic, part of the family eventually killed. So, the war is an absurdity in the 21st century. The war is evil.”
Guterres went to the Kyiv suburbs of Borodianka, Bucha and Irpin where Russia first directed their attacks earlier in the war. At the time, the country’s forces were attempting to penetrate and capture the capital city.
He said the visits strengthened his belief that a thorough investigation is required by the International Criminal Court (ICC) into war crimes against Russia.
“When we see this horrendous site, it makes me feel how important it is [to have] a thorough investigation and accountability,” Mr. Guterres said in Bucha. “I fully support the International Criminal Court and I appeal to the Russian Federation to accept to cooperate with the International Criminal Court.”
The ICC opened a case soon after the fighting began in Feb. Since then, Russia has been accused of war crimes such as targeting civilians, kidnapping children, torture and rape.
However, the investigation will cover a time before the war. ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said the court is looking into “alleged crimes committed in the context of situation in Ukraine since 21 November 2013.”
Guterres is one of several high profile individuals who has gone to visit the destruction in Ukraine first- hand.
UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson visited Kyiv earlier in the month to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymy Zelensky.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin visited Ukraine and also met with Zelensky, but President Biden has not yet made the trip.
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