Putin 'exploits timidity of West to commit horrors’ in Ukraine

The UK and its allies are accused of not doing enough to grind Moscow's war machine to a halt

An apartment building destroyed during fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces in Borodyanka, Ukraine. AP Photo

Russian President Putin is exploiting the timidity of Britain and its western allies who have “given him space to conduct horrors" in Ukraine, an MP said amid calls for tougher sanctions against Moscow.

Mr Putin’s position was bullishly defended by his spokesman, who suggested the Russian leader is unfazed by allegations of war crimes and genocide in recent weeks. The International Criminal Court has already started investigating whether war crimes are being committed in Ukraine.

Dmitry Peskov, the president’s spokesman, told Sky News the Kremlin “do not support and we do not recognise the International Criminal Court” when asked if Moscow would co-operate with the investigation. Mr Peskov denied Russian troops had committed war crimes in Ukraine.

Moscow also for the first time acknowledged huge losses in the war, with Mr Peskov saying there had been a "significant" loss of Russian lives in Ukraine.

Tobias Ellwood, chairman of the House of Commons defence select committee, said the Russian leader had “taken advantage of the West’s timidity” when invading Ukraine. The Conservative MP said Britain and its western allies were to blame for “giving Putin space to conduct horrors” against the Ukrainian people.

The politician said Mr Putin “is not scared in his job, is not scared of any war crimes, he’s not scared of breaching the Geneva Conventions”.

“In fact, he’s taken advantage of the West’s timidity. We’ve given him space to conduct these horrors and that needs to stop,” he told Sky News.

Mr Ellwood said the world should “brace ourselves for more war crimes to be revealed, more horrors to be exposed” as Russian troops pull out of towns to prepare for a renewed onslaught against Ukrainian forces in the Donbas. He also warned about the magnitude of the southern port city of Odesa possibly falling to the Russians, saying it would mean Mr Putin “will be able to declare a win” in the war.

Britain’s Ministry of Defence on Friday said Russian forces that were stationed in the north of the country “have now fully withdrawn from Ukraine to Belarus” and will need to be replenished before being sent back into battle.

“Many of these forces will require significant replenishment before being ready to deploy further east, with any mass redeployment from the north likely to take at least a week, minimum,” the MoD said.

“Russian shelling of cities in the east and south continues and Russian forces have advanced further south from the strategically important city of Izium, which remains under their control.”

The world is still reeling from the horrific images that emerged from Bucha, a commuter city near Kyiv, after Russian troops last week withdrew.

The mayor of Bucha said investigators had found at least three sites of mass shootings of civilians during the Russian occupation.

Most victims died from gunshots, not from shelling, he said, and some corpses with their hands tied were “dumped like firewood” into recently discovered mass graves, including one at a children’s camp.

Women, wrapped in a Ukrainian flag, embrace during a flash mob protesting sexual abuse by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, at Washington Square Park in New York. AFP

The train station, seen from a train car, after a rocket attack in Kramatorsk, eastern Ukraine. A rocket attack on the station in the eastern Ukrainian city killed 52 people as civilians raced to flee the Donbas region bracing for a feared Russian offensive. AFP

Antonina Kaletnyk waits for the body of her son in front of a collapsed building in the town of Borodianka, north-west of Kyiv. AFP

A vehicle drives past a hole on a damaged bridge, on the outskirts of Kyiv. AFP

A segment of a large rocket with the words "for our children" in Russian is pictured next to the main building of the train station in Kramatorsk. EPA

Antonina Kaletnyk waits for the body of her son in front of a collapsed building in the town of Borodianka, northwest of Kyiv. AFP

A woman waves goodbye to her husband as she leaves on a bus, a day after the rocket attack at a train station in Kramatorsk. AFP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and EU foreign affairs envoy Josep Borrell during their meeting in Kyiv, Ukraine. EPA

European Commission President Ursula and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy attend a news conference in Kyiv. Reuters

Ms von der Leyen shakes hands with President Zelenskyy as Mr Borrell looks on during their meeting in Kyiv. EPA

Ms von der Leyen and Mr Borrell before their meeting with President Zelenskyy in Kyiv. EPA

Ms von der Leyen, Mr Borrell and Ukraine's Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal visit the town of Bucha, outside of Kyiv, Ukraine. Reuters

Smoke rises after Russian shelling at the railway station in Kramatorsk, in the Donbas region of Ukraine. AP

Burnt vehicles are seen in the aftermath of a rocket attack on the railway station in Kramatorsk. AFP

Policemen at the scene in Kramatorsk. AFP

The remnants of a rocket after the deadly strike in Kramatorsk. AFP

Survivors of the attack sit on a bench outside the station. AFP

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen departs for Kyiv in Przemysl, Poland. Reuters

A man wheels his bicycle past a destroyed tank in Chernihiv. AP

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez and Barcelona Mayoress Ada Colau visit the refugee centre set up at Fira de Barcelona for the care, temporary reception and referral of Ukrainian citizens fleeing the war. EPA

Finnish Prime Minister Sanna Marin follows the address of Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via video link at the Finnish Parliament in Helsinki. AFP

A young refugee from Ukraine and a dog wait in the ticket hall of the railwlay station in Przemysl, eastern Poland, which has become a hub for refugees from Ukraine fleeing their country due to Russia's aggression. AFP

Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy thanks MPs after his virtual address to the Greek Parliament in Athens. AFP

Firefighters take a rest after working at the site of buildings that were destroyed by shelling, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine in Borodyanka, in the Kyiv region, Ukraine. Reuters

Martin Griffiths, Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator, poses for a picture during an interview with The Associated Press during an interview in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

Ukrainian soldiers Anastasia and Vyacheslav embrace prior to their wedding ceremony in a city park in Kyiv, Ukraine. AP

Yurii, 41, who serves in the Ukrainian military, grabs a wedding photograph from his apartment in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images

A damaged car is seen next to a heavily damaged apartment building in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images

Burnt cars are seen next to a field in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images

Svitlana, 62, shows a heavily damaged house in the residential area, in Hostomel, Ukraine. Getty Images

Ukrainians, who fled to Mexico amid the Russian invasion of their homeland, enjoy the performance of a mariachi band at the Benito Juarez sports complex, set up as a shelter by the local government, after arriving in Tijuana to enter the U. S. , in Tijuana, Mexico. Reuters

A Bushmaster protected mobility vehicle bound for Ukraine waits to be loaded onto a C-17A Globemaster III aircraft at RAAF Base Amberley, Australia. AP

Residents and volunteers cross the destroyed bridge to the city with supplies in Irpin, Ukraine. Getty Images

A Ukrainian serviceman attends a training session in Kharkiv outskirts, Ukraine. AP

A Ukrainian serviceman walks on a destroyed Russian fighting vehicle in Bucha, Ukraine. AP

Screens show results from voting by the UN General Assembly in New York as member countries pass a resolution to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council after Moscow's invasion of Ukraine. EPA

The shell of a theatre destroyed in the southern Ukrainian port city of Mariupol. Reuters

A woman lights candles during a demonstration to support Ukraine in downtown Sofia. AFP

Territorial Defence fighters are trained near Kharkiv. EPA

Rescuers work among remains of residential building destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodyanka, Kyiv region. Reuters

Smoke rises over the town of Rubizhne, in the Donbas region. AFP

Ukrainian soldiers sit on an armoured military vehicle in the city of Severodonetsk, Donbass region. AFP

Painted pictures showing Ukrainian cities hang on a wall at "Cafe Ukraine" in Berlin, Germany. Getty

A Ukrainian refugee's dog arrives on a train from Odesa at Przemysl Glowny train station in Poland. Reuters

Mayor Anatoliy Fedoruk said the count of dead civilians stood at 320 as of Wednesday, but that he expected the number to rise as more bodies are found in the city, which once had a population of 50,000. Only 3,700 now remain, he said.

Ukrainian leaders predicted there would be more gruesome discoveries in the days ahead after retreating Russian forces left behind crushed buildings, streets strewn with destroyed cars and mounting civilian casualties that drew condemnation from around the globe.