BRUSSELS (AP) \u2014 European Union countries on Monday accused Russia\u2019s military of committing war crimes in Ukraine, but appeared unlikely to impose new sanctions on Moscow despite a clamor across Europe for those responsible for attacks on civilians to be held to account.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
With civilian deaths mounting in the\u00a0besieged Ukrainian port city\u00a0of\u00a0Mariupol, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the increase in Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and theaters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The \u201ccourts will have to decide, but for me these are clearly war crimes,\u201d Baerbock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said before he chaired a meeting of the 27-nation bloc\u2019s foreign ministers in Brussels that \u201cwhat\u2019s happening in Mariupol is a massive war crime. Destroying everything, bombarding and killing everybody in an indiscriminate manner. This is something awful.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The encircled southern city on the Sea of Azov has seen some of the worst horrors of the war. City officials said at least 2,300 people have died in the siege, with some buried in mass graves. City authorities say about 10% of the city\u2019s population of 430,000 have fled and reported that some residents were forced to go into Russia against their will.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Borrell underlined that \u201cwar also has law.\u201d The International Criminal Court in the Netherlands is gathering evidence about any possible war crimes in Ukraine, but Russia, like the United States, doesn\u2019t recognize the tribunal\u2019s jurisdiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney said his country is \u201ccertainly open to other mechanisms for accountability in terms of the atrocities that are taking place in Ukraine right now.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Coveney said Russia\u2019s invasion of Ukraine is probably the first \u201cwar being played out on social media, where people see images happening live, and they\u2019re outraged by it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThis is driving a fury across the European Union within the public as to why can\u2019t we stop this,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cThey want people held to account for the decisions taken and the brutality that we have seen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Still, the imposition of a new round of EU sanctions on Russia \u2014 asset freezes and travel bans \u2014 appears unlikely for now.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Notorious for their often slow response to fast-moving international events, EU nations have rallied in just over three weeks since the invasion began on Feb. 24 to slap\u00a0sanctions\u00a0on hundreds of people. They include Russian President Vladimir Putin, senior ministers and pro-Kremlin oligarchs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Several \u201centities\u201d \u2013 companies, banks, airlines and ship builders \u2013 have also been hit in near record time. But the issue of imposing restrictive measures on Russian energy remains extremely sensitive, given the dependence of many EU countries on Russian natural gas.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A group of countries led by Germany wants a pause on new sanctions for now, amid concerns about high energy prices and fears that Russia might halt gas exports to Europe. Some also want to save sanction ammunition for any new and major war atrocity, like the use of chemical weapons.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are doing everything to close loopholes in the sanctions\u201d that have already been agreed, Baerbock said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis, whose country borders Russia and Belarus, warned against \u201csanctions fatigue.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe cannot get tired imposing sanctions. We cannot get tired, offering assistance and help to Ukraine,\u201d he said. Landsbergis said the EU must target oil, which is a major source of revenue for Russia .<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He said the EU must start thinking about what kind of attack by Russia would constitute a \u201cred line\u201d for tougher measures. The shelling of cities and civilians, he said, doesn\u2019t appear to be enough to persuade some member countries \u201cbut somewhere there, there has to be one.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Landsbergis also said that the Baltic nations of Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia need their defenses bolstered by partner countries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI think we need to see more equipment, and first of all the actual defense plans (for) the Baltic countries that would reflect the changed strategic reality of the region,\u201d he told reporters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The ministers were expected to endorse a second tranche of 500 million euros ($552 million) to help fund the purchase of weapons and other aid for Ukraine, diplomats said ahead of the meeting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
U.S. President Joe Biden will travel to Brussels on Thursday for talks at NATO and EU headquarters in an effort to put on a fresh display of trans-Atlantic unity in the face of Russia\u2019s war on Ukraine.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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