India condemns killings in Ukraine's Bucha in apparent hardening of stance

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U.N. Security Council's emergency meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, in New York City
India's Ambassador to the United Nations T. S. Tirumurti addresses the United Nations Security Council during a meeting, amid Russia's invasion of Ukraine, at the United Nations Headquarters in Manhattan, New York City, New York, U.S., April 5, 2022. REUTERS/Andrew Kelly

NEW DELHI, April 5 (Reuters) - India on Tuesday condemned the killings of civilians in Ukraine's Bucha and called for an independent investigation, having earlier declined to explicitly criticise the invasion of Ukraine by its long-time partner Russia.

A Ukrainian human rights ombudswoman said on Tuesday that between 150 and 300 bodies may be in a mass grave by a church in the town of Bucha, where Ukraine accuses Russian troops of killing civilians. read more

Moscow denies targeting civilians in Ukraine, calling images of the dead in Bucha that have shocked the world a "monstrous forgery" staged by the West to discredit it. read more

"Recent reports of civilian killings in Bucha are deeply disturbing," T.S. Tirumurti, India's permanent representative to the United Nations, told a meeting of the Security Council.

"We unequivocally condemn these killings and support the call for an independent investigation."

Tirumurti delivered his speech shortly after U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken had a phone conversation with India's foreign minister, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The United States has repeatedly urged India to condemn Russia's aggression since the Feb. 24 invasion.

India heavily relies on Russia for military hardware. New Delhi has repeatedly called for an end to violence in Ukraine, but has abstained from various U.N. resolutions on the war in a tricky attempt at balancing its ties with Moscow and the West.

India, currently a non-permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, hosted the Russian foreign minister in New Delhi last week during which they discussed maintaining trade ties. read more

Reporting by Krishna N. Das Editing by Bill Berkrot

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As the breaking news editor for South Asia, Krishna leads a team of reporters in the region covering everything from political and general news to economic and financial news. He also closely tracks India’s health industry and all things Bangladesh. He was a member of teams that won the Society of Publishers in Asia awards in 2017 and 2018 for Reuters coverage of the Bangladesh Bank heist and the Rohingya refugee crisis. He served as Malaysia bureau chief in 2019/20 before returning home. Krishna earlier led India’s political and general news team.

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