European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said the civilian deaths in the Ukrainian town of Bucha showed the "cruel face" of Russian President Vladimir Putin's army, pledging to support Kiev in defending "Europe's borders".
During a visit to Bucha, where forensic investigators began exhuming bodies from a mass grave, Von der Leyen appeared visibly moved by what she saw in a town where Ukrainian officials said hundreds of civilians were killed by Russian forces, Reuters reports.
Russia denies that it targeted civilians and calls allegations that Russian forces executed civilians in Bucha "monstrous falsifications."
Speaking to reporters in Bucha, von der Leyen, wearing a bulletproof vest, said the EU would do everything to support Ukraine to take the "necessary steps" to secure membership in the Union.
"The unthinkable happened here. We saw the cruel face of Putin's army. We saw the recklessness and cold-bloodedness with which they occupied the city," Von der Leyen told reporters in Buca.
"The whole world mourns with the residents of Buča, and they are the ones who ... defend the border of Europe, defend humanity, defend democracy, and that's why we stand with them in this important fight," she added.
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