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Romania’s foreign minister Oana Țoiu has visited war torn Ukraine this week to witness the four year anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, the city outside Kyiv which was among the first areas Russian forces occupied and controlled for about one month. A number for EU foreign ministers joined top EU diplomat Kaja Kallas for a special gathering.
“We have visited (Bucha) together, commemorating the victims, but at the same time being witnesses to this moment of resilience and how Ukrainians have taken back occupied territory,” the Minister told Euronews’ flagship morning show Europe Today.
Bucha, a town outside Kyiv, became known to the world when after one month of occupation, Ukrainian forces liberated the area, revealing what was the first evidence of Russian atrocities in Moscow’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. Video footage of murdered Ukrainians often with their hands tied surfaced when Russian forces were pushed out of Bucha by Kyiv troops on March 31, 2022.
The Ukrainian foreign minister Andrii Sybiha said this strong European presence showed that justice for Russian atrocities was inevitable. During the visit, EU ministers paid tribute to victims and heard first hand about the atrocities committed under Russian occupation.
“We have seen and heard stories of civilians that were simply crossing the streets, of children that were killed during the Russian occupation,” Minister Oana Țoiu told Europe Today.
The visit comes as the Ukrainian President seeks financial and strategic support beyond the European Union as a 90 billion euro EU loan to Ukraine is still held up for political reasons.
