We have a moral duty to hold war criminals to account

  • 2022-09-16
  • BNS/TBT Staff

TALLINN – Commenting on the discovery of a mass burial site in Izyum, Ukraine, Estonian Foreign Minister Urmas Reinsalu said that Russia is responsible for reparations and we have a moral duty to hold war criminals to account.

"Yesterday, another appalling piece of news reached us about the crimes of Russians in Ukraine -- a mass burial site was discovered in Izyum in the Kharkiv region, which was liberated from the Russians," Reinsalu said. "Izyum is a city about the size of Parnu, with 45 000 inhabitants. So far, 400 bodies have been found at the burial site, which includes mass graves, and many of them are civilians."

According to the minister, Russia has broken all the principles and agreements of international law and is responsible for reparations. "We have a moral duty to hold war criminals to account. The credibility of the rules-based order depends on it," Reinsalu added.

"We must also make the cost of the aggression as severe as possible for Russia. We will continue to work with like-minded countries to make sure the eighth sanctions package is adopted as quickly as possible," the minister said.