Germany has collected hundreds of pieces of evidence of war crimes in Ukraine, in particular, in Buch and attacks on Ukrainian civilian infrastructure, German Attorney General Peter Frank said in an interview with the Welt am Sonntag newspaper, adding that he sees the need for a trial at the international level.
He added that the amount of evidence prosecutors currently have is "in the triple digits," but did not provide details. Germany began gathering evidence in March 2022 to prosecute possible war crimes, including by interviewing Ukrainian refugees and assessing publicly available information, Frank said, adding that German prosecutors were not yet investigating specific individuals.
"We are preparing for a possible further trial - either with us in Germany, or with our foreign partners, or before an international court," he added.
When asked who should be tried, Frank said that the leaders of the Russian state and those who implement decisions at the highest military level should be held accountable.
The International Criminal Court launched its own investigation into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes days after Russia started the war on February 24, but it has no jurisdiction to prosecute crimes of aggression in Ukraine.
Head of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, while on a visit to Kyiv, announced the creation of an International Center for Prosecution of Crimes of Aggression in Ukraine in The Hague. In particular, he will coordinate the collection of evidence of Russian war crimes and will be part of the Joint Investigative Group with the support of Eurojust.
In addition, from March 2022, the UN Human Rights Council established the Independent International Commission to Investigate Violations in Ukraine. During ten months of work in Kyiv, Sumy, Chernihiv and Kharkiv regions, her team recorded numerous crimes committed by the Russian army, which was reflected in an interim report that was submitted to the General Assem
It is, in particular, about the continuous use of explosive weapons with a wide impact zone in populated areas, which led to the death and wounding of dozens of civilians and the devastation of entire districts. The commission documented attacks using cluster munitions, unguided rockets and airstrikes as the Russian military attempted to capture cities and smaller settlements in Ukraine. Most of the confirmed deaths since the beginning of hostilities, according to the commission, were caused by these weapons.
Also, Deputy Secretary of State for Political Affairs Victoria Nuland said at the hearings of the Committee on International Relations of the US Senate that the US and the countries of the "Group of Seven" are "working hard" on the creation of an international tribunal or another mechanism within which Russia can be held accountable for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine.
The Kremlin rejects accusations by Kyiv and Western countries of committing crimes against the civilian population and war crimes during Russia's full-scale aggression in Ukraine.
The article uses Reuters materials
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