•Moscow to respond to expulsion

•Pentagon can’t ‘independently confirm’ atrocities in Bucha, official says

FRANCE and Germany are expelling officials at the Russian embassy, a statement yesterday.

The Russian officials “have been working against our freedom and against cohesion of our society here in Germany every day,” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock said in a statement yesterday.

“Their work is a threat for those seeking shelter with us. We will not continue to tolerate this. This is what we told the Russian ambassador today,” she added.

The images from the Ukrainian town of Bucha “testify the incredible brutality of the Russian leadership and those following their propaganda, of a will to destruction that is crossing all borders,” the minister also said.

“We have to fear similar pictures (will emerge) from many other places occupied by the Russian forces,” she continued.

France has decided to expel many Russian diplomatic staff, echoing a similar action taken by Germany, the French Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said.

“Their actions go against our national security interests. This move [to expel the diplomatic staff] is part of a European initiative,” the ministry said in a statement.

A ministry source, who asked not to be named, said 35 Russian diplomats would be expelled.

Moscow to respond to expulsion of its diplomats
Moscow will respond to France’s decision to expel Russian diplomats, Interfax news agency has reported, citing the Russian foreign ministry. France has decided to expel many Russian diplomatic staff, echoing a similar action taken by Germany.

Pentagon can’t ‘independently confirm’ atrocities in Bucha, official says
The United States military is not in a position to independently confirm Ukrainian accounts of atrocities by Russian forces against civilians in the town of Bucha, but has no reason to dispute the accounts either, a senior US defence official has said.

“We’re seeing the same imagery that you are. We have no reason whatsoever to refute the Ukrainian claims about these atrocities – clearly, deeply, deeply troubling,” the official told reporters at a Pentagon briefing on condition of anonymity.

“The Pentagon can’t independently and single-handedly confirm that, but we’re also not in any position to refute those claims.”

Biden calls for Putin to face war crimes trial
The US president has called for his Russian counterpart to be put on trial for war crimes charges and said the US will impose more sanctions on Moscow in response to the alleged massacre of civilians in Bucha.

“What’s happening in Bucha is outrageous and everyone has seen it,” Biden told reporters, before again calling Putin “a war criminal”.

He added that Washington was going to “add” further sanctions against Russia.

Ukraine war: Peace talks still on despite ‘genocide’ — Zelensky
Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky has said peace talks will continue with Russia despite accusing Moscow of war crimes and genocide.

Mr. Zelensky was speaking in Bucha, near the capital Kyiv, where bodies of civilians were found strewn on the streets after Russian troops withdrew.

Russia, without evidence, says photos and videos of atrocities are “a staged performance” by Ukraine.

Mr Zelensky said Russian troops “treat people worse than animals. That is real genocide, what you have seen here”.

Responding to a question from the BBC on whether it was still possible to talk peace with Russia, Mr Zelensky said: “Yes, because Ukraine must have peace. We are in Europe in the 21st Century. We will continue efforts diplomatically and militarily.”

Ukraine has started a war crimes investigation after bodies of civilians were found in Bucha and Irpin, near Kyiv.

In Bucha, witnesses described Russian soldiers firing on men fleeing after refusing to allow them to leave through humanitarian corridors.

At least 20 dead men were found lying in the street. Many had extensive wounds – some had been shot through the temple, as if executed. Some had clearly been run over by tanks.

Bodies have been found on the streets of Bucha
In the nearby village of Motyzhyn, a BBC team were taken to see a shallow grave – four bodies were visible, and Ukrainian officials said there could be more.

Three of the bodies have been identified as that of the head of the village, Olha Sukhenko, her husband and her son. The fourth has not been identified yet. It is unclear when they were killed.

In Irpin, there is evidence of people being shot at as they tried to flee the commuter town.
On 6 March four civilians – a woman, her teenage son, her daughter of around eight years of age, and a family friend – were all killed by mortar fire as they tried to cross a battered bridge.

Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has described the alleged atrocities in Bucha as an “act” that was “staged” several days after Russian forces withdrew, according to Tass news agency.

“We categorically reject all allegations,” Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told journalists.

US will call for Russia to be suspended from UN Human Rights Council
US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks to the media after the conclusion of the Eleventh Emergency Special Session of General Assembly at the UN Headquarters, New York City, on March 24.

US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield speaks to the media after the conclusion of the Eleventh Emergency Special Session of General Assembly at the UN Headquarters, New York City, on March 24. (Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocke/Getty Images). The US will ask the United Nations to suspend Russia from the Human Rights Council, US Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said Monday their participation is “a farce.”

According to a tweet by US mission spokesperson Thomas-Greenfield, “in close coordination with Ukraine, European countries and other partners at the UN, we are going to seek Russia’s suspension from the UN Human Rights Council.”

“I am returning to New York to do two things. One: I will take this to the Security Council tomorrow morning and address Russia’s actions directly,” she wrote.

“Russia’s participation on the Human Rights Council is a farce. It hurts the credibility of the Council and the UN writ large.

And it is wrong, which is why we believe it is time the UN General Assembly vote to suspend them,” Thomas-Greenfield said.

Russian gas sale to European hits record high as cold peaks
Gazprom, Russia’s majority state-owned multinational gas company, said yesterday
it planned to transmit nearly 108.3 million cubic metres of gas to Western Europe yesterday.

This apparently unfazed by the worsening conflict in Ukraine and a stand-off about Russian demands that payments start coming in roubles.

The Monday figure was nearly at the peak of contractual limits.
On Sunday, Gazprom transmitted 108.4 million cubic metres.

The high transmission rates were partly grounded in European demand after a cold snap prompted an unseasonably high level of home heating.

However, the continued transmissions raise more questions than answers.
After Russia’s February 24, invasion of Ukraine, allegedly to prevent a genocide against ethnic Russians, Western Europe laid a wide range of sanctions on Russia.
Gas, however, was exempt from those sanctions.

In recent weeks, Russia has been hinting that it might turn off the taps.
On Friday, new rules went into effect saying that Western customers had to open accounts at Russian banks to make payments.

This is a step down from a previous threat that payments would have to come in roubles, a move many governments had baulked at.

Russia backs self-proclaimed pro-Kremlin mayor in Mariupol, says city council
Russia has backed a self-proclaimed mayor of Ukraine’s southeastern port city of Mariupol, who is collaborating with Russian forces, the city council has said in an online post.

Mariupol has been encircled by Russian forces, who have taken control of some of the city, but as of Monday Russia had not succeeded in taking full control, according to the Ukrainian defence ministry.