Estonian president calls Mariupol attack brutal crime

Photo: AFP / Scanpix

The terrorist attack by the Russian-supported separatists in Mariupol on Saturday morning, where dozens of civilians were killed by a rocket attack and even more were injured, is a despicable and brutal crime, Estonian President Toomas Hendrik Ilves said on Sunday.

The president expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and wished the injured a quick recovery.

«The democratic world stands face to face with disgraceful evil and violence: separatists are attacking Ukrainian cities with the support of a permanent member of the UN Security Council,» the Estonian head of state said. He once more called upon Russia to give up its support to the separatists and to use all its influence to ensure a halt to the violence, destruction and suffering of thousands of people in Southeast Ukraine.

«The extraordinary meeting of European Union foreign ministers must affirm that we stand united and unwavering in our efforts to contain the aggressor and its supporters, which must also mean expansion of the visa sanction list and that we consider new economic sanctions,» Ilves said.

«Let us abandon our illusions – we see the goal is to destroy the territorial integrity of a European state. Every new separatist attack only confirms their unwillingness to honor the ceasefire or to find a peaceful solution to the situation, because their goal and that of their supporters is to expand military operations and continue to create new suffering,» he said.

The rockets that killed at least 30 people in the Ukrainian port town Mariupol on Saturday morning were fired from two locations controlled by pro-Russian separatists, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) said. Ukrainian authorities have said over 100 people were injured in the attacks.