Polish PM calls for international probe into Ukraine ‘genocide’

Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki on Monday called for an international investigation into what he termed a “genocide” carried out by Russian troops in Ukraine, including in the town of Bucha.

“These bloody massacres committed by Russians, by Russian soldiers, deserve to be called what they are. This is genocide and it must be judged,” Morawiecki told reporters.

“This is why we are proposing an international commission to investigate this crime of genocide.

Such a commission “is essential if we want to find out the truth on the extent of Russian fascist crimes”.

Morawiecki also called for new Western sanctions against Russia and compared to Russian President Vladimir Putin to dictators from the past.

“Clear and determined sanctions are necessary. These sanctions are not working,” Morawiecki said.

He also addressed French President Emmanuel Macron saying: “How many times have you negotiated with Putin and what have you achieved? We do not discuss, we do not negotiate with criminals. Criminals have to be fought against”.

“Nobody negotiated with Hitler. Would you negotiate with Hitler, with Stalin, with Pol Pot?”

Addressing German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Morawiecki said: “It is not the voices of German business leaders, of German billionaires who are probably stopping you from taking action, that should be listened to in Berlin today but the voices of innocent women and children.”

Dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets of towns previously occupied by Russian forces near the capital Kyiv over the weekend.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has accused Russia of committing genocide