Visiting an Orthodox church in the town of Bucha outside the capital Kyiv, where Russian forces have been accused of killing civilians, France’s new foreign minister Catherine Colonna told reporters: “This should never have happened. It must never happen again”.
She added that France will do “everything in its power” to restore peace, and hopes “legal proceedings are completed as quickly as possible, so that families can see their loved ones laid to rest in proper graves”, AFP reports.
Since Russia’s invasion, Colonna is the highest ranking French official to visit Ukraine. Later, she is poised to meet with president Volodymyr Zelensky and her counterpart Dmytro Kuleba to discuss Russia’s blockage of Ukrainian ports and global food security.