Putin responsible for heinous war crimes: Trudeau in Kyiv

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Sunday that Russian leader Vladimir Putin was responsible for “war crimes”, during a visit to Ukraine where he met with President Volodymyr Zelensky.

“It is clear that Vladimir Putin is responsible for heinous war crimes,” Trudeau said at a news conference with the Ukrainian leader.

“There must be accountability,” he added, after a G7 meeting including the Ukrainian president.

Earlier in the day, Trudeau visited Irpin outside Kyiv, a city devastated by fierce fighting between Ukrainian and Russian forces before its occupation in March by Moscow, the city’s mayor said.

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“I witnessed first-hand the brutality of Russia’s illegal war,” he told reporters.

Irpin Mayor Oleksandr Markushyn posted pictures on an official social media channel with pictures of Trudeau writing that he “came to Irpin to see with his own eyes all the horror that the Russian occupiers had done to our city”.

Canada “restarted operations in Kyiv today”, Trudeau said.