Ukraine’s Prosecutor General investigates 5,800 Russian war crimes cases

Her comments come Horrific atrocities in UkraineRussian forces have amplified calls to pursue war crimes charges against Russian President Vladimir Putin. After images surfaced of at least 20 corpses strewn across the streets of Bucha, Ukraine, earlier this month, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky called for an end to Russia’s “war crimes”.

Russia has denied any involvement in the incident, claiming – without evidence – that the atrocities at Bucha were orchestrated, and part of a “planned media campaign”. But witnesses who spoke to CNN said the massacre in the town began weeks ago when it was occupied by Russian forces, and video shoot It appears that Russian forces are shooting indiscriminately at a civilian.

On Monday, Venediktova said she had made multiple visits to Bucha, where “the community is still exhuming bodies from the mass grave.”

“It’s not just war crimes,” she said. “Now we can say – a lot of crimes against humanity.”

The scenes emerging from the Kyiv suburb sparked international outrage, with Western leaders – including President Joe Biden – calling for war crimes investigations and new sanctions against Russia.

The president said earlier this month that the images from Bucha justify calling Putin a “war criminal,” adding, “But we have to gather information. We have to keep providing Ukraine with the weapons it needs to keep fighting and we have to get all the details so that this can be a trial. Actual – prosecute a war crime.”

The International Criminal Court’s top war crimes prosecutor traveled to Ukraine to investigate, and the US embassy in Kyiv argued in the early days of the war that specific Russian attacks constituted war crimes.

Anyone accused of a crime can be tried within the jurisdiction of the court. The Court judges people, not states, and focuses on those who bear the greatest responsibility: leaders and officials.