EU slams 'war crimes' in Ukraine but new sanctions unlikely

European Union countries are accusing Russia of committing war crimes in Ukraine

BRUSSELS -- European Union countries on Monday accused the Russian armed forces of committing war crimes in Ukraine, but appeared unlikely to impose new sanctions on Moscow despite a clamor across Europe for those responsible for attacks on civilians to be held to account.

With civilian deaths mounting in the besieged port city of Mariupol, German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock highlighted the increase in Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure, including hospitals and theaters.

The “courts will have to decide, but for me these are clearly war crimes," Baerbock said.

EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said before he chaired a meeting of the 27-nation bloc's foreign ministers in Brussels that “what’s happening in Mariupol is a massive war crime. Destroying everything, bombarding and killing everybody in an indiscriminate manner. This is something awful.”