EU Diplomats Steer Attention to Ukraine03/31 06:06

   European foreign ministers visited Ukraine on Tuesday to mark the fourth 
anniversary of atrocities committed in a town near Kyiv by Russia's invading 
forces.

   KYIV, Ukraine (AP) -- European foreign ministers visited Ukraine on Tuesday 
to mark the fourth anniversary of atrocities committed in a town near Kyiv by 
Russia's invading forces.

   With U.S.-led efforts to end the war on hold and Washington's attention 
gripped by the conflict in the Middle East, European governments are keen to 
keep a spotlight on the continent's biggest land war in decades, now in its 
fifth year.

   A group of 12 European foreign ministers, as well as numerous lower-ranking 
officials, arrived by train in Kyiv where they were welcomed by Ukrainian 
Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who noted the "grim anniversary" of the 
shocking atrocities in Bucha.

   Russian troops quickly occupied the town after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 
2022. They stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian troops retook Bucha they 
found more than 400 bodies left by Russia's cleansing operation.

   "Such a strong European presence (in Ukraine) on this day demonstrates that 
justice for this and other Russian atrocities is inevitable," Sybiha said in a 
post on X. "Comprehensive accountability for Russian crimes is vital to restore 
justice in Europe."

   At the Church of Saint Andrew in Bucha, after viewing dozens of graphic 
photographs and a video display of the massacres with his EU counterparts, 
Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski was grim.

   "Anybody who claims that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin is not a war 
criminal should come and see for themselves," Sikorski told The Associated 
Press.

   Authorities say that many of the victims were gunned down in the street. 
Some had their hands tied behind their backs, and others showed signs of 
torture or rape.

   The United Nations has documented more than 70 summary executions.

   'Revenge and retaliation'

   Part of Tuesday's meeting between the EU officials and their Ukrainian 
counterparts was to focus on reassuring Kyiv of continued European efforts to 
hold Russia to account for its invasion.

   On the way to Kyiv, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas 
underlined the importance of ensuring that those who gave the orders to kill in 
places like Bucha are held to account, as much as those who carried the 
atrocities out.

   "One of the things that is really necessary is accountability. Otherwise, 
you have revenge and retaliation," Kallas said. "If you don't see people doing 
this to your family held accountable, you will want revenge."

   The Iran war is currently a top priority for the United States and risks 
diverting resources that Kyiv needs, such as air defense systems, while 
providing Russia with windfall profits through high energy prices.

   "We can't let it (the Ukraine war) slip off the table," Kallas said. "We are 
the ones who have to keep this up because nobody else does."

   U.S.-mediated negotiations to end the war are going nowhere, and it's 
unclear when they might resume after being put on ice while the Middle East 
conflict unfolds.

   "The talks are stalled," Kallas said.

   Long-range drone attacks

   The EU has faced its own challenges in helping Ukraine. The bloc failed to 
approve new sanctions on Russia last month after surprise objections from 
Hungary. Budapest has also blocked a 90 billion euro ($103 billion) loan to 
Ukraine as Kyiv runs low on cash. Ukraine's application for EU membership, 
meanwhile, is expected to take years.

   Russia, meanwhile, hopes to reap a windfall from a surge in oil prices and a 
U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions designed to ease supply 
shortages. Russia is one of the world's main oil exporters, and Asian nations 
are increasingly competing for Russian crude oil as an energy crisis mounts.

   In response, Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russian 
oil facilities, which have rattled Moscow.

   Ukraine's Defense Ministry said its forces carried out a series of strikes 
over the past week targeting Russia's oil export infrastructure on the Baltic 
Sea, hitting key facilities in the Leningrad region used to ship crude and 
petroleum products.

   Ukrainian drones struck oil loading infrastructure and storage tanks at the 
Transneft terminal in Primorsk on March 22--23, starting fire, the ministry 
said. Further strikes on March 24 and again overnight into March 29 hit the 
Novatek Ust-Luga port complex, damaging storage facilities and loading docks 
and igniting large fires.

   Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region, confirmed that 
the port of Ust-Luga was again attacked by Ukrainian drones overnight, saying 
it caused unspecified damage to the port facilities.