German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier has called for a trial of Russian leaders as the Ukraine invasion entered its 44th day on Friday.

Speaking to German magazine Der Spiegel, Steinmeier said Russian President Vladimir Putin and Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov should face a war crimes tribunal.

"Anyone who has responsibility for these crimes will have to explain themselves," Steinmeier was quoted as saying. "That includes soldiers" and officials with "political responsibility," he said.

Steinmeier's statement represents a tough new stance from Berlin after criticism that his close ties to the Kremlin had slowed Germany's support for Ukraine.

The president also acknowledged that Russia's invasion of Ukraine had somewhat surprised him. 

"I have been a witness of the changes in Russian politics, but, to be honest, I had still hoped for some small remnant of rationality from Vladimir Putin," he said, adding that he had "not anticipated that the Russian president would risk the total political, economic and moral ruin of his country in an [act of] imperial madness. The invasion shocks me." 

Germany leads Russia probe

Hundreds of civilians have been killed since the February 24 invasion, as shelling has devastated homes and hospitals. 

According to Ukrainian authorities in the region, at least 50 people were killed in Friday's rocket attacks on a train station in the eastern city of Kramatorsk. As with previous cases, Russia denied responsibility.

Evidence of mass civilian killings emerged earlier this week in Bucha, where bodies lay on the streets, framed by burnt cars and bombed-out homes.

Ukraine has accused Russia of genocide and war crimes. Russia denied involvement in the attacks, instead calling them a "monstrous forgery."

But, in a report this week, German intelligence officials claimed to have intercepted radio transmissions that tie Russian troops to the Bucha killings.

Two former German former ministers, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger and Gerhart Baum, are now seeking war crime probes against Putin, after filing criminal complaints in Germany.

Russia isolated on world stage

The International Criminal Court has also opened investigations into possible war crimes in Ukraine.

Speaking at a news conference in Prague on Friday, European Home Affairs Commissioner Ylva Johansson echoed calls for a trial.

"We have all seen the pictures, the videos of the result of war crimes," Johansson said. "It is so important that these war crimes will not go unpunished."

On Thursday, a majority of countries voted to boot Russia from the UN's Human Rights Council.

sl/msh (AFP, dpa, Reuters)