UN Chief Tours Towns Near Kyiv, Says 'War Is Evil'

But Antonio Guterres didn't directly criticize Russia
By Newser Editors and Wire Services
Posted Apr 28, 2022 6:24 AM CDT
UN Chief Visits Devastated Towns Near Kyiv
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres looks at houses destroyed by Russian shelling in Borodyanka, on the outskirts of Kyiv, Ukraine, Thursday, April 28, 2022.   (AP Photo/Efrem Lukatsky)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has toured devastated areas outside the Ukrainian capital that were occupied by Russian troops. Speaking to journalists on Thursday at several points, Guterres urged Russia to cooperate with the International Criminal Court, the AP reports. That’s after the bodies of civilians were found in areas once held by Russian forces, some shot with their hands bound. Guterres, who visited Bucha, Borodyanka, and Irpin, and also said that "civilians always pay the highest price” in any war.

"When I see those destroyed buildings, I must say what I feel. I imagined my family in one of those houses that is now destroyed and black. I see my granddaughters running away in panic, part of the family eventually killed," he said. "So, the war is an absurdity in the 21st century. The war is evil. And when one sees these situations our heart, of course, stays with the victims." He added: "When we talk about war crimes, we cannot forget that the worst of crimes is war itself." The BBC reports that the UN chief, who held talks with Vladimir Putin in Moscow on Tuesday, "chose his words carefully, talking about war in general and not blaming or criticizing Russia directly."

(More Russia-Ukraine war stories.)

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