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KYIV, Ukraine — <\/span>European foreign ministers visited Ukraine on Tuesday to mark the fourth anniversary of atrocities committed in a town near Kyiv<\/a> by Russia\u2019s invading forces.<\/p>\n With U.S.-led efforts to end the war on hold and Washington\u2019s attention gripped by the conflict in the Middle East<\/a>, European governments are keen to keep a spotlight on the continent\u2019s biggest land war<\/a> in decades, now in its fifth year.<\/p>\n A group of 12 European foreign ministers, as well as numerous lower-ranking officials, arrived by train in Kyiv where they were welcomed by Ukrainian Foreign Minister Andrii Sybiha, who noted the \u201cgrim anniversary\u201d of the shocking atrocities in Bucha.<\/p>\n Russian troops quickly occupied the town after invading Ukraine on Feb. 24, 2022. They stayed for about a month. When Ukrainian troops retook Bucha they found more than 400 bodies left by Russia\u2019s cleansing operation<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cSuch a strong European presence (in Ukraine) on this day demonstrates that justice for this and other Russian atrocities is inevitable,\u201d Sybiha said in a post on X. \u201cComprehensive accountability for Russian crimes is vital to restore justice in Europe.\u201d<\/p>\n At the Church of Saint Andrew in Bucha, after viewing dozens of graphic photographs and a video display of the massacres with his EU counterparts, Polish Foreign Minister Radek Sikorski was grim.<\/p>\n \u201cAnybody who claims that (Russian President) Vladimir Putin is not a war criminal should come and see for themselves,\u201d Sikorski told The Associated Press.<\/p>\n Authorities say that many of the victims were gunned down in the street. Some had their hands tied behind their backs, and others showed signs of torture or rape. <\/p>\n The United Nations has documented more than 70 summary executions.<\/p>\n Part of Tuesday\u2019s meeting between the EU officials and their Ukrainian counterparts was to focus on reassuring Kyiv of continued European efforts to hold Russia to account for its invasion.<\/p>\n On the way to Kyiv, European Union foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas underlined the importance of ensuring that those who gave the orders to kill in places like Bucha are held to account, as much as those who carried the atrocities out.<\/p>\n \u201cOne of the things that is really necessary is accountability. Otherwise, you have revenge and retaliation,\u201d Kallas said. \u201cIf you don\u2019t see people doing this to your family held accountable, you will want revenge.\u201d<\/p>\n The Iran war is currently a top priority for the United States and risks diverting resources that Kyiv needs, such as air defense systems, while providing Russia with windfall profits through high energy prices.<\/p>\n \u201cWe can\u2019t let it (the Ukraine war) slip off the table,\u201d Kallas said. \u201cWe are the ones who have to keep this up because nobody else does.\u201d<\/p>\n U.S.-mediated negotiations to end the war are going nowhere, and it\u2019s unclear when they might resume after being put on ice while the Middle East conflict unfolds.<\/p>\n \u201cThe talks are stalled,\u201d Kallas said.<\/p>\n The EU has faced its own challenges in helping Ukraine. The bloc failed to approve<\/a> new sanctions on Russia last month after surprise objections from Hungary. Budapest has also blocked<\/a> a 90 billion euro ($103 billion) loan to Ukraine as Kyiv runs low on cash. Ukraine\u2019s application for EU membership, meanwhile, is expected to take years.<\/p>\n Russia, meanwhile, hopes to reap a windfall<\/a> from a surge in oil prices and a U.S. temporary waiver on Russian oil sanctions designed to ease supply shortages. Russia is one of the world’s main oil exporters, and Asian nations are increasingly competing<\/a> for Russian crude oil as an energy crisis mounts.<\/p>\n In response, Ukraine has intensified its long-range drone attacks on Russian oil facilities, which have rattled Moscow<\/a>.<\/p>\n Ukraine\u2019s Defense Ministry said its forces carried out a series of strikes over the past week targeting Russia\u2019s oil export infrastructure on the Baltic Sea, hitting key facilities in the Leningrad region used to ship crude and petroleum products.<\/p>\n Ukrainian drones struck oil loading infrastructure and storage tanks at the Transneft terminal in Primorsk on March 22\u201323, starting fire, the ministry said. Further strikes on March 24 and again overnight into March 29 hit the Novatek Ust-Luga port complex, damaging storage facilities and loading docks and igniting large fires.<\/p>\n Alexander Drozdenko, the governor of the Leningrad region, confirmed that the port of Ust-Luga was again attacked by Ukrainian drones overnight, saying it caused unspecified damage to the port facilities.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Associated Press writer Illia Novikov contributed to this report from Kyiv, Ukraine.<\/p>\n ___<\/p>\n Follow AP\u2019s coverage of the war in Ukraine at https:\/\/apnews.com\/hub\/russia-ukraine<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n