EU accuses Russia of committing 'massive war crime' in Ukraine

Bloc's foreign ministers condemn attacks on civilians in Mariupol

A church damaged by shelling in a residential area of Mariupol, Ukraine. AP

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Russia’s bombardment of civilians in Ukraine amounts to a “massive war crime”, the European Union said on Monday as some members said they were open to alleged atrocities being prosecuted by a special tribunal.

Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief, said Russia’s attacks on the port of Mariupol were destroying the city, indiscriminately killing its residents and were “completely out of any kind of law”.

Germany also joined the UK and US in describing Russia’s onslaught as a war crime after reports of civilians being deliberately targeted during the weeks-long invasion and the battle for control of Mariupol.

Ukraine and its allies say Russian strikes have destroyed a maternity hospital in Mariupol as well as an art school and a theatre that had been marked as a shelter for civilians.

Russian President Vladimir Putin “deserves the strongest condemnation of the civilised world,” said Mr Borrell as the EU’s 27 foreign ministers met in Brussels, with many joining him in denouncing attacks on civilians.

“This is a war crime, a massive war crime, what’s happening in Mariupol,” said Mr Borrell. “Using their military capacities against civilians is not a war, it is a massive destruction of the country.”

At least three ministers indicated support for the idea, floated by statesmen including the UK’s former prime minister Gordon Brown, of creating a special tribunal similar to the Nuremberg court which prosecuted Nazi war crimes.

The International Criminal Court is investigating reports of atrocities in Ukraine which the UN has also said could amount to war crimes, but Russia withdrew its signature from the treaty governing the court in 2016.

A satellite photo from Planet Labs shows civilian buildings burning after Russian strikes on Mariupol. AP

Simon Coveney, Ireland’s Foreign Minister, said this would make it difficult for the ICC to secure a conviction, potentially strengthening the case for a special tribunal.

“We’re open to that,” he said. “We are very open to whatever mechanisms will work in terms of securing accountability for the decisions that are currently taking place in Ukraine.”

Slovakian delegate Ivan Korcok similarly said he was ready to discuss the idea, while Lithuania’s Gabrielius Landsbergis said a tribunal “could be unavoidable” for what he said should be a wider reckoning with Mr Putin’s Russia.

“We have to have a systematic approach to the ideology, to Putinism itself, and it has to be assessed, and probably a tribunal could be a place to do it,” he said.

Germany’s Annalena Baerbock did not address the idea of a tribunal, but said one court or another would have to decide on what she described as “clear and unambiguous war crimes” unfolding in Ukraine.

Ukraine on Monday rejected a Russian demand to surrender Mariupol, after Moscow promised to allow civilians trapped in the bombardment without water, heat or medicine to escape if its defenders laid down their arms.

Mariupol was not on a list of eight humanitarian corridors where Ukraine said agreement had been reached for people to get out.

Firefighters put out a major blaze caused by Russian shelling at a food warehouse in Severodonetsk, a city in eastern Ukraine's Luhansk region. AFP

Irina Zubchenko walks her dog Max amid the destruction caused by the shelling of a shopping center in Kyiv. AP

Ukrainian refugee Masha, 6, plays at the border crossing in Budomierz, Poland. Reuters

A charred Russian armoured personnel carrier on the front line in the Kyiv region. Reuters

A volunteer takes position at a checkpoint in a district of Kyiv as Russian forces try to encircle the Ukrainian capital. AFP

Residents of Kyiv retrieve belongings from their homes in a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after shelling by Russian artillery. AFP

Police officers in Moscow detain a woman as she protests against Russia's invasion of Ukraine. AFP

A resident of the village of Krasylivka after Russian bombardment, part of Moscow's effort to move on Kyiv. AFP

Tetiana Chornovol, a former Ukrainian MP, prepares to take position with an anti-tank missile on the front line in the Kyiv region. Reuters

A rescue worker at a shopping mall in Kyiv after a Russian air strike. Reuters

Ukrainian firefighters rescue a person buried beneath rubble after an explosion at a shopping centre in Kyiv. Reuters

Ukrainian police officers stand near a warehouse that was hit by the debris of a downed rocket in Kyiv. AFP

Graves are dug in a street in the besieged southern port city of Mariupol. Reuters

Pro-Russia militia fighters travel by tank to the outskirts of Mariupol. Reuters

Milana, 6, who is recovering from leg wounds sustained when a Russian rocket hit her house on February 28, killing her mother, watches volunteers dressed as clowns at a children's hospital in Kyiv. Getty

Tetyana and other residents wait in Kyiv, after being relocated from Irpin town. EPA

Rescuers carry a Ukrainian soldier saved after 30 hours trapped in the wreckage of a military school hit by Russian rockets, in Mykolaiv. AFP

A Ukrainian refugee arrives with her dog at the reception centre about three kilometres from the Moldova-Ukraine border. EPA

Volunteers in Kyiv prepare packages with food and other goods for Ukrainian soldiers and civilians in cities across the country. EPA

Residents walk between damaged residential buildings in Mariupol. Reuters

Participants illuminate the Ernst Happel Stadium in Vienna with the lights of their smartphones, during the charity concert We Stand with Ukraine. AFP

Yana Hladiychuk of Ukraine with a "Stop War" message on her face after the women's pole vault, on the second day of the World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade. Getty

An Ukrainian girl in tears after crossing the border in Siret, northern Romania. AFP

A satellite image shows the aftermath of the Russian air strike on the Mariupol Drama Theatre. EPA/Maxar Technologies

A woman takes cover in a military trench as a Russian jet fighter flies overhead, near the military school hit by Russian rockets the day before, in Mykolaiv. AFP

A man walks amid debris in front of a Kyiv residential apartment complex that was heavily damaged by a Russian attack on March 18. Getty

Residents carry water from a food warehouse, which is under the control of the breakaway Donetsk People's Republic, on the outskirts of Mariupol. AP

Rescuers work at the site of the National Academy of State Administration building damaged by shelling in Kharkiv. AP

A satellite image shows artillery strikes and burning fields in Chernihiv. AP / Maxar Technologies

A resident assesses her damaged flat in Mariupol. Reuters

Kyiv's mayor Vitali Klitschko keeps people away from a five-storey residential building that partially collapsed after shelling on March 18. AFP

Russian President Vladimir Putin addresses crowds at a concert in Moscow to mark the eighth anniversary of the annexation of Crimea. AP

Ukrainian policemen secure a residential area in Kyiv. Sergei Supinsky

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. AP

A cloud of smoke rises after an explosion in Lviv, western Ukraine, on March 18. AP

Zinaida Pivtsova, 75, who fled the war in Ukraine, takes shelter in a sports stadium in Przemysl, south-east Poland. AP

A police officer at abandoned residential buildings in Kyiv. AP

Inside a shell-damaged school in Kyiv. AP

A woman cries before starting to clean the site where a bomb damaged residential buildings in Kyiv. AP Photo / Rodrigo Abd

A woman from Ukraine sits in a car with her children as a volunteer takes them to a hostel in Budapest, Hungary. AP

An abandoned flat in Kyiv. AP

A man removes a curtain inside a school in Kyiv. AP

A worker sets up a billboard with the colours of the Ukrainian flag in Novoiavorisk, near Lviv. AP

Olga plays with her daughter Vedeneya in an empty park in Kyiv. AP

As the fighting continues into a fourth week, some EU countries are calling for tougher sanctions to weaken the Russian war effort and punish Mr Putin for launching the invasion.

Mr Landsbergis cautioned against what he said was a mood in European meetings that politicians would “like to sit down and take a breath”.

“Europe cannot give an impression of fatigue when the war in Ukraine has not ended,” he said. “I think it’s a very bad message to those who are actually fighting in Ukraine.”

Four rounds of sanctions have already curbed Russia’s access to financial markets, blocked trade in key industries, banned Russian flights from much of Europe’s airspace and targeted prominent individuals including Mr Putin.

In parallel to these sanctions, many of Ukraine’s closest neighbours are supporting its demand for fast-track admission to the EU.

Senior EU leaders have played down the idea of accelerating a process which typically takes a decade or more and requires negotiations in a swathe of policy areas from the environment to the rule of law.

But Mr Korcok said Slovakia expects the European Commission to speed up the process of submitting a formal opinion on Ukraine’s application.

“They’re defending their territory, but they’re fighting for us,” he said.