PARIS — French President Emmanuel Macron said on Monday he favors new sanctions against Moscow after claiming Russian forces committed atrocities against Ukrainian civilians in Bucha, a town outside Kyiv.
“There is very clear evidence of war crimes. It was the Russian army that was in Bucha,” Macron told France Inter after discovering mass graves and hundreds of dead northwest of Kyiv.
“The scenes are unbearable. International justice must work. Those behind these crimes must respond,” he said.
Local authorities said they were forced to dig community graves to bury the dead piling up in the streets, including some who were found with their hands tied behind their backs in scenes more than a month after the Russian invasion sent shock waves through international capitals.
Macron called for progress on further steps towards EU-level sanctions, which he said could target Russia’s oil and coal industries.
“What happened in Bucha requires a new round of sanctions and very clear measures,” Macron said.
France will coordinate these measures with its EU partners, “especially Germany”, in the coming days, he said.
Macron said targeting the oil and coal industries would be “particularly” painful for Russia.
The EU could also impose new sanctions on Russian individuals, Macron added.
