Russian leadership will be held accountable for crimes in Ukraine - Austrian FM

According to an Ukrinform correspondent, Austrian Foreign Minister Alexander Schallenberg said this in an interview with APA when he met with Ukrainian mothers in Moldova on Friday, April 1.

"The Russian leadership will be held accountable," Schallenberg said, referring to crimes committed during the war in Ukraine.

Speaking about the shelling of civilian targets and the use of certain weapons by Russia, the minister said that "there is a strong suspicion of war crimes committed in Ukraine."

When asked whether Putin is a war criminal, he said: " One thing is clear: the people who committed this must be held accountable."

Schallenberg did not rule out that the Russians could also attack Moldova. "We don't know that," he said.

According to the Austrian minister, what Russia is doing against Ukraine "is the biggest mistake they could have ever made."

Schallenberg also said he did not expect Putin's relations with Russia to normalize even after the end of the war in Ukraine. "I can't imagine a return to the status quo ante with the best will in the world," he said.