Japan slams ‘exceptionally cruel’ civilian deaths near Kyiv

Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi on Monday condemned the “exceptionally cruel” violence against civilians near Kyiv in an apparent reference to killings in the town of Bucha.

Japan’s top diplomat, who is visiting Poland, joined a chorus of global outrage after dozens of bodies were found in mass graves or littering the streets near the Ukrainian capital over the weekend.

“I am deeply shocked by news of the exceptionally cruel acts of violence against civilians near Kyiv,” Hayashi told reporters alongside his Polish counterpart in Warsaw.

“The murder of innocent civilians is a violation of international humanitarian law and is unacceptable and I strongly condemn these acts,” he added.

“The Russian assault is a blatant violation of international law and an attempt to unilaterally change the status quo through the use of force.”

Earlier Monday the Kremlin rejected accusations that Russian forces were responsible for killing civilians near Kyiv and suggested images of corpses were “fakes”.

Hayashi spoke while on a multi-day trip to Poland, during which he visited the EU member’s border with Ukraine and met with refugees who fled the war-torn country.

“I was able to see for myself how difficult of a situation the refugees are in,” he said.

He did not speak of recent media reports that some of the people who fled Ukraine would join him on his flight back to Japan.

Polish Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau for his part stressed the importance of diplomacy in ending the war.

“The only way to resolve the conflict has been, is and will continue to be diplomacy and dialogue,” he told reporters.

“We regret that Russia chose the path of aggression and war instead of dialogue and diplomacy.”