Estonia and Latvia recognize Russia’s war crimes in Ukraine as genocide
Latvia and Estonia have become the first countries in the world to officially recognize the crimes of the Russian Federation in Ukraine as genocide
The parliaments of Latvia and Estonia adopted statements acknowledging that Russia had committed genocide against the Ukrainian people.
In the statement published on its website, the Estonian Parliament says that the Russian Federation committed acts of genocide, including mass atrocities, against the civilian population in the temporarily occupied territories - in particular, in Bucha, Borodyanka, Hostomel, Irpen and Mariupol.
"(Acts of genocide) consist of murder, kidnapping, deportation, imprisonment, torture, rape, as well as desecration of corpses," the statement reads.
In its statement, the Latvian Parliament pointed to significant evidence of mass atrocities committed by the Russian army and condemned crimes against humanity and genocide, noting its duty to "recognize them and ensure that they do not happen again."