Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, International Minister Maxime Prevot, and Protection Minister Theo Francken, arrived in Kyiv on April 8, assembly with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The delegation additionally visited Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv which turned an emblem of Russian conflict crimes after mass graves had been uncovered in April 2022 following its liberation by Ukrainian troops.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor Common's Workplace has documented over 1,400 civilian killings within the Bucha District, together with 637 in Bucha itself. Among the many victims had been 37 youngsters. Many had been executed, their our bodies left on the streets or buried in mass graves.
Prevot mentioned on his social media that their go to is "greater than a symbolic gesture."
"In the present day, we honor the victims. We stand with the survivors. And we reaffirm this: Belgium stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. Justice should prevail. And we is not going to look away," Prevot mentioned in a put up on social media.
The Kremlin has long-used Bucha in state propaganda, denying the extensively documented crimes dedicated by Russian forces.
Ukraine marked the third anniversary of the Bucha tragedy on March 31, with European parliamentary leaders visiting the suburb.
In the present day, along with the Prime Minister of Belgium, @Bart_DeWever, we commemorated our defenders—the soldiers due to whom Ukraine is alive, free, and continues to struggle.
We keep in mind the feat of each man and lady who defended Ukraine at the price of their very own lives. Everlasting… pic.twitter.com/oTSUZRnZLt— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 8, 2025
"The brutality of March 2022 isn’t rumour," Prevot mentioned. "It’s truth. Documented by satellite tv for pc photographs, forensic specialists, survivors’ testimonies, and the tireless work of the UN, ICC, and NGOs.
"And but, Russia nonetheless tries to disclaim it, spinning lies, peddling disinformation, calling Bucha a hoax. However no lie can erase the reality written in blood," he added.
"Bucha isn’t an remoted case. From Mariupol to Izium, from Kramatorsk to Kherson, the sample is identical: terror, torture, mass killings. These aren’t tragic errors of conflict. They’re conflict crimes. Systematic. Calculated. Deliberate."
The Kyiv IndependentTim Zadorozhnyy