Scenes in Bucha show “brutal face of Putin’s war”, von der Leyen tells CNN

In an interview with Christiane Amanpour, from CNNEuropean Commission President Ursula von der Leyen called the killing of civilians in the Ukrainian city of Bucha “an atrocity, something unthinkable and shocking, it is the brutal face of Putin’s war”.

This Friday (8), von der Leyen visited Bucha as forensic investigators began exhuming bodies from a mass grave. Russia denies attacking civilians, and has already called allegations that Russian troops executed civilians a “monstrous act” aimed at defaming the country’s forces.

Talking to Christiane Amanpour in Kiev, the president of the European Commission said that the bloc has “determination not to let Putin do that and for that he has to fail, and Ukraine has to win this battle with our support”.

Von der Leyen said that increased sanctions and financial support for Ukrainian troops are under discussion, and that Ukraine will certainly “have more weapons”.

“We came here to Kiev with the financial commitment of 500 million more in weapons, I also talked to the prime minister about their need, so the flow of weapons is better now for Ukraine so that they can defend themselves and also fight for our democracies”, he pointed out.

Possible punishment for Hungary

During the interview with Amanpour, von der Leyen further stated that Hungary will break EU sanctions if it fulfills its promise to pay for Russian energy in rubles.

“We did an analysis of Putin’s decree, and the legal case is very clear. What Putin is suggesting — turning euros into rubles and then paying the gas bill — would be a violation of sanctions. If you do that, pay in rubles, violate sanctions, circumvent the sanctions we impose on Russia,” said the president of the European Commission.

Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orbán had indicated that his country would be willing to pay for Russian gas in rubles after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree demanding that “hostile countries” be required to pay for gas in currency.

The EU was in discussions with Budapest, Von der Leyen told CNN.

“So far, Hungary has adhered to the sanctions, so until we see otherwise, everything is fine. Never before have we seen the European Union so united, so determined, so fast. And I think for each of our member states, also a question, do I want to be the first to break this unity? I don’t think so,” she said.

*With input from Emmet Lyons and Arnaud Siad of CNN