Russia’s attacks on civilian targets intentional, says Czech president during Borodianka visit

Czechia’s President Petr Pavel expressed sadness during his visit to Borodianka north of Kyiv, on Friday. Mr Pavel, who is visiting Ukraine together with Slovak President Zuzana Čaputová, said that the damage to the settlement reminded him of the destroyed houses in Afghanistan and the former Yugoslavia, adding that he thought he would never see something like this happen in Europe. However, he also added that he wasn’t too surprised, as “Russia has shown much inclination towards barbarism in recent years.”

Mr Pavel also visited the nearby town of Bucha where he laid down flowers at one of the mass graves and spoke to locals, stating that the world needs to ensure no such tragedy ever happens again. He also received a medal commemorating the Bucha tragedy from the governor of the Kyiv Region, news site Deník N reports.

Both Borodianka and Bucha were the site of internationally condemned atrocities inflicted by Russian forces during their occupation of the area in the early stages of the country’s invasion of Ukraine. Speaking in Borodianka, Czechia’s head of state said that the large number of attacks by Russia on Ukrainian civilian targets shows that this is the Kremlin’s intent rather than a case of multiple accidents. Russia is hoping to create chaos and terror among the civilian population and thus pressure the Ukrainian government towards making concessions, Mr Pavel said.