Ukraine’s foreign minister has told the West “half measures are not enough anymore”, as he demanded tougher sanctions be imposed on Russia after evidence of new atrocities emerged.
Speaking at a press conference alongside UK foreign secretary Liz Truss in Poland on Monday afternoon, Dmytro Kuleba also made a plea for more weapons.
“Ukraine won the battle for Kyiv but the war goes on”, he told reporters.
Kuleba said the the reported rape and killing of civilians in the Ukrainian town of Bucha were just the “tip of the iceberg”.
“Half measures are not enough anymore. I demand from our partners, on behalf of the victims of Bucha and the people of Ukraine, to take the most severe sanctions against Russia this week,” he said.
“This is not the request of Ukraine’s foreign minister. This is the plea of the victims of rape, torture and killings, their relatives and the entire Ukrainian nation.”
He added: “The West so far continues to fuel the Russian war machine with payments for fossil fuels.”
Kuleba said the West’s “reluctance” to supply some military assistance needed to end.
“The more weapons we have, the sooner we will be able to win this war and prevent Russia for committing more crimes,” he said.
It came as the UK called for Russia to be suspended from the UN Human Rights Council, claiming there is “strong evidence” the country has committed war crimes.
Truss told the press conference the British government wanted to “go to the maximum level of sanctions” against Russia after “appalling atrocities” in Ukraine.
“The idea that we should wait for something else bad to happen is completely wrong,” she said.