Belgian Prime Minister Bart de Wever, Foreign Minister Maxime Prevot, and Defense Minister Theo Francken, arrived in Kyiv on April 8, meeting with President Volodymyr Zelensky.
The delegation also visited Bucha, a suburb northwest of Kyiv which became a symbol of Russian war crimes after mass graves were uncovered in April 2022 following its liberation by Ukrainian troops.
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office has documented over 1,400 civilian killings in the Bucha District, including 637 in Bucha itself. Among the victims were 37 children. Many were executed, their bodies left on the streets or buried in mass graves.
Prevot said on his social media that their visit is "more than a symbolic gesture."
"Today, we honor the victims. We stand with the survivors. And we reaffirm this: Belgium stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. Justice must prevail. And we will not look away," Prevot said in a post on social media.
The Kremlin has long-used Bucha in state propaganda, denying the extensively documented crimes committed by Russian forces.
Ukraine marked the third anniversary of the Bucha tragedy on March 31, with European parliamentary leaders visiting the suburb.
Today, together with the Prime Minister of Belgium, @Bart_DeWever, we commemorated our defenders—the warriors thanks to whom Ukraine is alive, free, and continues to fight.
— Volodymyr Zelenskyy / Володимир Зеленський (@ZelenskyyUa) April 8, 2025
We remember the feat of every man and woman who defended Ukraine at the cost of their own lives. Eternal… pic.twitter.com/oTSUZRnZLt
"The brutality of March 2022 is not hearsay," Prevot said. "It is fact. Documented by satellite images, forensic experts, survivors’ testimonies, and the tireless work of the UN, ICC, and NGOs.
"And yet, Russia still tries to deny it, spinning lies, peddling disinformation, calling Bucha a hoax. But no lie can erase the truth written in blood," he added.
"Bucha is not an isolated case. From Mariupol to Izium, from Kramatorsk to Kherson, the pattern is the same: terror, torture, mass killings. These are not tragic mistakes of war. They are war crimes. Systematic. Calculated. Deliberate."
Tim Zadorozhnyy
(Updated: )
