“We Will Not Look Away”: Belgium’s Leaders Travel to Ukraine in Show of Support

Belgian Prime Minister Bart De Wever arrived in Ukraine for an official visit, traveling alongside Foreign Minister Maxim Prevot and Defense Minister Theo Francken, Prevot reported on X on April 8.

“Arriving in Ukraine by night train this morning, alongside Prime Minister Bart De Wever and Defence Minister Theo Francken, is more than a symbolic gesture,” Prevot wrote on social media. “It is a mission of solidarity, of hope, and of unwavering support for a generation of Ukrainians fighting for their freedom and their future.”

The first stop for the Belgian delegation was the town of Bucha, outside Kyiv—a name that, as Prevot put it, “has become synonymous with horror and with resilience.”

“Three years ago today, Bucha was liberated from Russian occupation,” he wrote.

“What Ukrainian forces and international investigators found was devastating: mass graves, bodies of civilians, women, children, the elderly, showing signs of torture and execution. Hands tied. Shot at close range. Burned. Mutilated.”

“The brutality of March 2022 is not hearsay. It is fact,” he added. “Documented by satellite images, forensic experts, survivors’ testimonies, and the tireless work of the UN, ICC, and NGOs. And yet, Russia still tries to deny it, spinning lies, peddling disinformation, calling Bucha a hoax. But no lie can erase the truth written in blood.”

Prevot emphasized that Bucha is not an isolated case. “From Mariupol to Izium, from Kramatorsk to Kherson, the pattern is the same: terror, torture, mass killings. These are not tragic mistakes of war. They are war crimes. Systematic. Calculated. Deliberate.”

“Today, we honor the victims. We stand with the survivors. And we reaffirm this: Belgium stands shoulder to shoulder with Ukraine. Justice must prevail. And we will not look away.”

He added that the visit is about “truth, memory, and a future where Ukraine is free, sovereign, and European.”

According to Belgian broadcaster VRT, the delegation is also scheduled to meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy during their visit.

Earlier, speakers and deputy speakers from 17 European national parliaments, along with representatives of the European Parliament, arrived in Kyiv for a summit of parliamentary leaders.

The visit coincides with the anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, a city that has become a symbol of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.

Join the Large Demining Fundraiser

Help clear 3 Ukrainian regions from Russian explosive ordnance.

Donate