Blinken: Images of the dead Ukrainians in Bucha “a blow to the intestine”

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said today that the State Department will help document any atrocities the Russian army has committed against Ukrainian civilians, following images from the town of Bucha in northwest Kiev showing the bodies of at least 20 civilians killed.

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And since aggression, we have emerged and said we believe Russian forces committed war crimes and we have worked to document this, to provide information that we have relevant instructions and organisations that will all decide together. And he must be responsible for this”, he said.

Asked on Sunday whether Russian troops committed genocide, Blinken said they would assess exactly what happened in Ukraine and who is responsible.

I think the most important thing is that we can't get numb to this, we can't normalize this. This is the reality that is happening every day as Russia's brutality against Ukraine continues. That's why it has to end,” he said.

Blinken refused to confirm reporting from CNN and others that the US was helping to facilitate the transfer of Soviet-era tanks to Ukraine, which was one of the weapons systems Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky was seeking.

But Blinken said the United States and NATO countries were helping to secure Ukraine's necessary weapons, adding that there will soon be 10 antitank weapons systems in Ukraine for any Russian tank located on Ukrainian territory.

Asked about the possibility of Ukraine maintaining neutrality between the West and Russia as part of a negotiated war outcome, Blinken said the Biden administration would support what Ukrainians want to maintain their sovereignty.

When it comes to the future, we and our allies and partners will want to make sure that we do everything we can to ensure that this is not happening and that Ukraine has the means to defend itself, to prevent further Russian aggression. So we'll see everything we can do to support that kind of result,” said Blinken.