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Canada’s House of Commons condemns Russian ‘war crimes’ in Ukraine
The House of Commons passed a motion in this regard after allegations of atrocities committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Bucha
Canada’s House of Commons on Monday passed a motion condemning what it called “war crimes” after allegations of atrocities committed by Russian forces in the Ukrainian city of Bucha.
Cutting across party lines, Canadian MPs resolved that “in light of the horrific and appalling reports received from the city of Bucha, the House condemn in the strongest terms possible the crimes against humanity and war crimes perpetrated by (Russian President) Vladimir Putin, the Russian military and Russian-backed forces”.
The House called upon the government to ensure that such instances were “documented and that Russia be held responsible for these crimes at the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice.”
In a reaction to the reports, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau tweeted, “We won’t spare any effort to make sure violations of international law in Ukraine are investigated, and we won’t relent in holding Putin and his enablers accountable.”
Foreign minister Melanie Joly, who was in Helsinki, also expressed her shock during a press conference and said that the world had “witnessed an abhorrent and senseless attack on innocent civilians in Bucha” and that these acts were “clearly war crimes”.
Joly’s remarks came as the Canadian government imposed additional sanctions on Monday on nine Russian and nine Belarusian individuals for “having facilitated and enabled violations of Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence”.
The foreign ministry described the individuals as “close associates of the Russian and Belarusian regimes”, according to a handout from Global Affairs Canada.
“By enabling Vladimir Putin’s senseless invasion of Ukraine, these close collaborators of the regime are complicit in the horrific events unfolding before our eyes,” Joly said in the statement.
The handout also described what occurred in Bucha as “abhorrent”.
Since the Russian attack on Ukraine commenced in February, the Canada has sanctioned 700 individuals and entities from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus, including Putin.
