Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko: Every Euro You Receive From Or Send To Russia Is Bloody Money

Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko. (Source: kyivcity.gov.ua)

JAKARTA - The mayor of Kyiv urged European politicians to cut all commercial ties with Moscow, saying on Tuesday all payments to Russia were bloody money, which would trigger what he called the 'Ukrainian genocide'.

The United States and Europe are planning new sanctions after dead civilians were found in recaptured satellite towns near Kyiv, including a shallow mass grave in Bucha, but exports of Russian gas to Europe have continued.

Moscow is known to have rejected reports of the killing of civilians in Bucha, saying it was a fake aimed at discrediting Russia.

"Every euro, every penny that you receive from Russia or that you send to Russia has blood, it is blood money and the blood of this money is the blood of Ukraine, the blood of the Ukrainian people," said Vitali Klitschko, speaking at a mayoral conference in Geneva. , Switzerland online wearing military attire, reports Reuters 5 April.

"You can't be half pregnant. It's a black and white war right now. Are you for peace and supporting Ukraine or are you supporting the aggressor, Russia?," he added in a message to politicians.

Klitschko described seeing the bodies of civilians, including an elderly woman, during visits to Bucha and other cities near Kyiv in the past two days.

A car with a white flag and the words 'children' written on the outside had been shot and had blood inside, he said, adding that officials were searching for the bodies of the passengers.

Klitschko, a former heavyweight boxer, said life in the capital was improving, with some people returning, but described the situation in eastern Ukraine as 'critical'.

His colleagues in besieged Mariupol had told him that 5,000 civilians had so far died there, without providing details.

Klitschko repeated calls for more defensive weapons for Ukraine, saying it was in Europe's own interest to do so.

"This war can touch everyone in European countries. Where is the end of Russia's ambitions?," he said.

Russia has denied any allegations related to the killing of civilians, saying it would provide "empirical evidence" at a UN Security Council meeting on Tuesday to prove its forces were not involved.