Ukrainian ambassador on alleged war crimes by Russia: ‘There is no war logic in all of this’

Ukrainian Ambassador to the U.S. Oksana Markarova said on Sunday that “there is no war logic” when it comes to reported atrocities blamed on Russia in its invasion of the country as talks of alleged war crimes committed by the Kremlin grow. 

During an appearance on ABC’s “This Week,” co-anchor Jonathan Karl asked Markarova about a new report that was released this week detailing that Russian armed forces committed war crimes in the city of Izyum, including the discovery of mass graves.

In response, Markarova told Karl that the alleged reports of war crimes from the Russian armed forces has been an issue since the beginning of the conflict. 

“Unfortunately, what we see in Izyum, what we saw in Bucha before, and we can only imagine the situation in Mariupol and other places, which are still under occupation,” Markarova said. “But it’s tortures, rapes, killings. War crimes of a massive proportions.” 

“That’s why we need to liberate the whole territory of Ukraine as soon as possible because clearly Russians are targeting all Ukrainians,” Markarova added. “Whole families. Children. So, there is no war logic in all of this. It’s simply terrorizing and committing genocide against Ukrainians.”

Markarova’s remarks come after Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said in an address on Friday that his country’s officials suggested that world leaders create an ad hoc international tribunal to punish Russia for what he called war crimes it had committed during the invasion. 

“This is an extremely important direction, which is important both in the context of European integration and in the context of the internal transformation of our state,” Zelensky said in his daily address. 

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, which began in February, has killed thousands on both sides and displaced 7.2 million Ukrainian citizens.