Canada's foreign minister accused Russia of "war crimes" Monday after dead bodies were found scattered on the streets of Bucha, outside Kyiv, and warned of imminent new sanctions.
The shocking discovery of bodies in civilian clothing has sparked a chorus of international outrage, with US President Joe Biden calling for a "war crimes trial."
"What happened over the weekend is completely egregious, completely unjustifiable and shocking," Melanie Joly told a press conference while on a trip to Finland.
"These are clearly war crimes. These are clearly crimes against humanity," she said.
In a subsequent tweet, Joly took explicit aim at "the atrocities committed by the Russian forces against innocent civilians in Bucha," as Canada joined Western allies in calling for those responsible to be brought to justice by the International Criminal Court.
"We will continue to impose severe costs on the Russian regime," she vowed.
The scale of the killings in Bucha is still being pieced together. On Sunday, Ukrainian prosecutor general Iryna Venediktova said 410 civilian bodies had been recovered in the wider Kyiv region after Russian troops pulled back.
The Kremlin has denied any responsibility and suggested images of corpses were "fakes."
Joly told the press conference Canada would "very soon" be announcing more sanctions against Russian and Belarusian individuals and entities, while urging the G7 to "do more."
A Canadian government statement said the measures would target nine Russians and nine Belarusians who are known to be "close associates" of their countries' governments.
The European Union was urgently discussing a new round of sanctions against Russia on Monday, while Biden also said he would seek more sanctions.
