Vladimir Putin’s forces are waging genocide in Ukraine, the country’s Deputy Prime Minister warned today.
Olha Stefanishyna spoke out as her President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia's siege of the port city of Mariupol was "a terror that will be remembered for centuries to come".
Weeks into the Ukraine-Russia war, Russia ’s defence ministry said it had struck Ukraine with cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and Caspian Sea, and launched hypersonic missiles from Crimean airspace.
The city council in Mariupol said Russian forces bombed an art school where about 400 residents had taken shelter.
There was no immediate word of casualties, and Reuters could not independently verify the claim. Russia denies targeting civilians.
Asked if she believed it was a genocide, Ms Stefanishyna told Sophy Ridge On Sunday on Sky News: "I absolutely believe it. I am a lawyer myself and I commit myself to implementation of the decision."
Ms Stefanishyna added: “It’s really important that all political leaders around the world… stay united and establish the anti-war coalition. Only this joint effort will allow us to prevent this massive genocide and murdering in the 21st Century”.
She said that while Kyiv was still open to talks with the Kremlin, Ukraine would “absolutely not” give up some territory to Russia.
She highlighted “horrible stories women have heard about women who have been raped for hours and then murdered”.
She referred to the ruling of the International Court of Justice in the Hague, which has urged Russia to "immediately suspend the military operations" it began on February 24 in Ukraine.
"We know that the words of the ruling, the orders, mean nothing to the Russian Federation, but it's not something I presume or anybody else presumes, this is the reality," she said. "Putin and the Kremlin are the worst criminals.
"They commit the worst crimes and they're doing a targeted attempt on the Ukrainian population... it's not a question, it's simply the reality we are all facing in the 21st century."
She vowed: “Ukrainian territory is a territory which has been fixed in 1991.
“Within its entirety and internationally recognised border, it's not only the position of Ukraine, it's the position of the whole world enshrined in numerous decisions of the UN Security Council... so that is not an option for discussion.
“Of course, there might be room for discussion on the reintegration of those territories that have been under occupation for the last eight years."
She went on: “Ukraine will resist as long as it needed to make sure that no terror, no mass murdering, no genocide is committed on this land in the 21st century.
"But it's absolutely clear that only a Ukrainian army, and only a Ukrainian president, will not be able to withstand it alone."
Earlier this week, Ukrainian MPs on a trip to Britain accused invading Russian soldiers of raping women over the age of 60 and hanging them.
Lesia Vasylenko, an MP for Ukraine's opposition party Holos has said many female "senior citizens" are committing suicide after being sexually assaulted by Russian troops in a bid to escape the violence.
Vasylenko also claimed that some Ukrainians were so vulnerable they could not escape, with the MP saying Russian President Vladimir Putin has "changed his strategy to target the most vulnerable groups of women and children".
The Ukrainian MP's claims come after Mayor of Kyiv Vitali Klitschko claimed Putin was "not healthy" and a "danger to the world".
Vasylenko said: "Most of [the women over 60] were executed after being raped or took their own lives. The main problem is that victims and families do not have the strength or capacity to come forward."
Another Ukrainian MP, Maria Mezentseva of the Servant of the People Party added: "The ladies who were raped and suffered sexual violence, some of them were hanged.
"These are the facts we are gathering for evidence on war crimes and to take to the ECHR [European Court of Human Rights]."
The former head of UK Defence Intelligence said Putin's invasion of Ukraine is "pretty demoralised, pretty stuck and pretty stalled".
Air Marshal Philip Osborn told Sophy Ridge On Sunday on Sky News Russian forces are "demoralised because they were poorly prepared and proven to be inadequate", and are now stalled because they have "lost momentum".
He added: "We are seeing them pull resources and manpower from across Russia, even from Syria, and that is not a good indication for a supposed superpower.
"They are stalled because they are running out of options.
"Really what is left to them now is to double down on brute force to put pressure on the Ukrainian government."
