YES Board Statement on massacres and terror in Bucha and Borodyanka

We are appalled by the reports emerging from Bucha, Borodyanka and other Ukrainian towns in recent days. Much of what Russia has done since Putin began his criminal invasion has shocked us and shocked the world - shelling maternity hospitals, kidnapping mayors and journalists, killing children. But the massacres and terror in Bucha and Borodyanka can only be described as genocide, and we call upon the world to treat them as such. 

Allies of Ukraine, and enemies of suffering, must redouble any previous efforts in order to support Ukraine. We fear that further genocidal atrocities will be discovered as the Ukrainian military liberates ever more towns and cities, and we are concerned that the Russian army plans to repeat these war crimes across Ukraine. The democratic world must bolster Ukraine’s arsenal of military hardware and defensive capabilities. But we also warn the world now: stop Putin's genocide in Ukraine, or the wave of conflict will reach your shores. We call upon the nations of the world to condemn the massacre in Bucha and Borodyanka in the strongest possible terms, and provide Ukraine with the means to ensure this act of genocide is never again repeated.

Aleksander Kwasniewski, President of Poland (1995–2005), Chairman of the Board of YES; 

Carl Bildt, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Sweden (2006-2014); Prime Minister of Sweden (1991-1994), member of the Board of YES; 

Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia (2016-2021), United Nations Secretary-General's Global Advocate for Every Woman Every Child, member of the Board of YES;

Wolfgang Ischinger, President, Munich Security Conference Foundation Council; Chairman, Munich Security Conference (2008-2022), member of the Board of YES;

Stephane Fouks, Vice President of Havas Group, Executive Co-Chairman of Havas Worldwide, member of the Board of YES; 

Victor Pinchuk, Founder of YES, businessman and philanthropist; 

Anders Fogh Rasmussen, Founder of Rasmussen Global, Secretary General of NATO (2009-2014), and Prime Minister of Denmark (2001-2009), member of the Board of YES.