RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Brazilian government stressed that it was concerned about the images of human suffering in the Ukrainian war and called for independent investigations.
However, it defended that such trials should proceed without “prejudging” those responsible, in contrast to U.S. and European accusations against Moscow.
The statement was made during Tuesday’s meeting of the UN Security Council. The body is meeting to address the crisis that has erupted in light of reports of possible war crimes by Russian troops, including in places like Buka.
The Brazilian government gave a speech lasting just over five minutes, in which it did not mention the Russian government by name at any point.
For Brazil’s ambassador to the UN, Ronaldo Costa Filho, such reports from Ukrainian cities are indeed “extremely disturbing.” Brasilia called for independent investigations into “all violations” and for both sides to cooperate.
However, Itamaraty pointed out that such processes should take place “without jumping to conclusions” and that perpetrators must be held accountable.
This stance differed fundamentally from the U.S. government’s address to the Security Council. Washington made clear that, according to its information, the government of Vladimir Putin had committed “war crimes.”
At the same meeting, Ukrainian President Volodimir Zelensky even compared the Russians to Islamic State terrorists.
The French government also decided to hold the Russians directly responsible for the crimes, accusing Moscow of trying to deny the facts and spread disinformation, while Norway insisted that there is no room for “impunity in the face of war crimes” and the United Kingdom held the Kremlin directly responsible for the atrocities.
China took a similar stance to Brazil, insisting that evidence of crimes must be investigated and that only then can accountability be established.
During the meeting, the Russian government denied any type of crime and stated that there was no evidence of Putin’s involvement in the Bucha affair, and also warned against alleged manipulation of the facts.
According to Moscow, the troop withdrawal on March 30 was carried out to send a “message of goodwill” to the peace negotiations, and local authorities never commented on the deaths.
Russian diplomats continued to question the bodies found in the city and even suggested that Ukrainians were responsible for the deaths, “in the best Goebbels manner.”
“We have come to bring peace and eliminate the Nazi tumor,” said the Russian mission to the UN, which again denounced the existence of extremist movements in Ukraine.