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PACE President reacts to wave of Russian strikes against civilians in Ukraine

Ukraine war, Irpin
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"I am horrified by the recent wave of Russian air and missile strikes on civilian infrastructure and residential buildings in Ukraine, which has already resulted in dozens of innocent people killed and hundreds injured," said Tiny Kox, the President of the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE). "Attacks on clearly non-military targets in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Mykolayiv, Lysychansk - and, particularly, the shocking strike on the shopping mall in Kremenchug yesterday - have no justification whatsoever. This must stop immediately!"

"There is no question that the political and military leadership of the Russian Federation bear full responsibility for these barbaric acts, and the international community must do everything to bring to justice the perpetrators and instigators of these and other war crimes committed by the Russian army during this war of aggression against Ukraine. PACE has already emphasised that the Russian authorities who are responsible for launching this ongoing war must be held to account using all legal means available to us," said the President.

"My thoughts and deepest sympathies are with victims of these appalling war crimes and their families. I also wish to pay tribute to Ukrainian firefighters, doctors, paramedics and others who show remarkable professionalism, and often heroism, in saving people from the debris and fire in the areas hit by the Russian army," he concluded.