Swiss President pays respects to Ukrainian massacre victims

Swiss President Alain Berset (centre) laid flowers at a church in Bucha, Ukraine, to commemorate victims of a Russian massacre. Keystone / Anthony Anex

During his surprise visit to Ukraine on Saturday morning, Swiss President Alain Berset paid tribute to the victims of the Russian massacre in the Kyiv suburb of Butsha in spring 2022.

He also paid tribute to the victims of the Holodomor famine.

Immediately after his arrival in Ukraine, the Swiss Interior Minister visited the largest mass grave in the village around 25 kilometres north-west of the capital Kyiv. The remains of dozens of civilians were found there after the attack.

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Berset laid a wreath at the site of what was probably the worst massacre of civilians in the first weeks after the start of the Russian invasion, together with the mayor of Butsha, Rusland Kravchenko, and the Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin.

During a tour, the President of the Swiss Confederation gained an impression of this tragic site, which is now largely repopulated. Images and eyewitness accounts from survivors triggered an international outcry in the days following the Butsha massacre. Russia denies any responsibility and claims that the massacre was only carried out after its troops had withdrawn.

Berset then commemorated the Holodomor famine, which claimed several million victims in the then Soviet Ukraine from 1931 to 1933. He lit a candle in front of the memorial in Kyiv together with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his wife. This year marks the 90th anniversary of the famine. It was categorised as genocide by the EU Parliament in 2008.

As part of his visit to Ukraine, Berset is to hold more detailed talks with Zelensky later in the day and take part in a summit on the export of Ukrainian grain to countries that rely on it.

* The original version of this article was updated at 11:15.

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