Ukrainian president invites Merkel, Sarkozy to newly liberated city of Bucha

By Merve Berker

ANKARA (AA) – Ukraine’s president on Sunday invited Germany’s former chancellor and a former French president to the Ukrainian city of Bucha, which was recently liberated from Russian forces.

In a video address published on his Telegram channel, Volodymyr Zelenskyy called on Angela Merkel and Nicolas Sarkozy, saying: “I invite Ms. Merkel and Mr. Sarkozy to visit Bucha and see what Russia's policy of concessions has led to over the past 14 years.”

"See with your own eyes the tortured and slain Ukrainians," he said.

He recalled that Sunday is the 14th anniversary of the NATO summit in the Romanian capital Bucharest, when there was still a glimmer of a chance to decouple Ukraine from the "gray zone" in eastern Europe between NATO and Russia.

"The gray zone, where Moscow thinks it’s allowed to do anything. Even the most terrible war crimes," Zelenskyy underscored.

He stressed that behind optimistic diplomatic statements claiming that his country could become a NATO member then, in 2008, a refusal was hidden to accept Ukraine into the alliance.

Additionally, Zelenskyy claimed there was a "senseless fear of Russia on the part of some politicians," who he said believed that by rejecting Ukraine, they would be able to calm Russia down and convince it to respect Ukraine and “live along with us.”

"Over the 14 years since that miscalculation, Ukraine has gone through a revolution and eight years of war in Donbas. And now we are fighting for our lives in the worst war in Europe since World War II," he emphasized.

Zelenskyy stressed that he did not blame the West or anyone else except the specific Russian military servicemen who committed crimes against Ukrainians and those who gave them orders.

"But we have the right to talk about indecisiveness. About the path that led to such Bucha, such Hostomel, such Kharkiv, and such Mariupol. We have no indecisiveness. Whatever bloc we’re part of or beyond, we understand one thing: we must be strong," he said.

Images from Bucha, located near the capital Kyiv, purport to show civilian bodies lying in the streets. Residents who spoke to British news outlet Sky News said the civilians were shot dead by retreating Russian troops without provocation, their hands and feet later discovered to have been tied and bound.

International outrage has grown since the photos and footage surfaced, drawing the condemnation of German and British leaders.

Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called on international organizations Sunday to send their experts to the country as soon as possible to collect evidence of war crimes committed by Russian troops.

Meanwhile, the Russian Defense Ministry has denied that its troops killed civilians while withdrawing from towns near Kyiv.

The Russian war against Ukraine, which started on Feb. 24, has been met with international outrage, with the European Union, US and UK among others implementing tough financial sanctions on Moscow.

At least 1,417 civilians have been killed in Ukraine and 2,038 injured, according to UN estimates, with the true figure feared to be far higher.

More than 4.1 million Ukrainians have also fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.