The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor Karim Khan labeled Ukraine a “crime scene” shortly after he visited the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, where hundreds of civilians were reportedly massacred by Russian forces.
Russia invaded Ukraine seven weeks ago, and as Moscow’s military operations goals continue to go unmet, its forces have resorted to attacking civilians. At times, it has taken days or weeks for these alleged atrocities to come to light, such as in Bucha, where they were only uncovered once Russian forces retreated from the area.
RUSSIAN TROOPS DEPORTED 500,000 UKRAINIANS, USED RED CROSS EMBLEM
Khan’s team has “reasonable grounds” to believe Russian troops committed war crimes, though he noted on Wednesday, “We have to pierce the fog of war to get to the truth. That requires independent, impartial investigation.”
“We have to keep an open mind and we have to follow the evidence,” he added. “The law needs to be mobilized and sent into battle to protect civilians.”
Meanwhile, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe released a report on Wednesday that found “clear patterns of international humanitarian law violations,” including the forced deportation of half a million people to Russia, using the Red Cross emblem on military vehicles, and attacking more than 50 healthcare facilities.
Earlier this week, Ukraine’s prosecutor general’s office said it has begun investigating roughly 5,800 allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity committed by Russian forces. Iryna Venediktova, the prosecutor general, said her office has 500 suspects they’re investigating, including “top politicians, top military, top propaganda agents of the Russian Federation,” she explained.
Both Venediktova’s office and the ICC could charge Russian military personnel or Kremlin leaders with war crimes.
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Russian leaders have repeatedly denied responsibility for most of these allegations, often claiming without evidence that the scenes had been staged.
President Joe Biden on Tuesday said that he believed Russian actions in Ukraine amounted to a “genocide” during a biofuel event in Menlo, Iowa, marking the first time a member of his administration described the situation as such.
