Ukraine identifies hundreds of thousands of Russian soldiers, checks their involvement in war crimes – Prosecutor General's Office

The Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine, jointly with the Security Service of Ukraine and the National Police of Ukraine, have identified hundreds of thousands Russian soldiers, who are in Ukraine at the moment. The law enforcers are currently checking their involvement in war crimes.

Source: Yurii Belousov, Head of the Department of Counteracting Crimes Committed Amidst an Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, in an interview for Interfax-Ukraine news agency

Quote: "There are certain databases with personal information of all identified Russians – from the military and intelligence officers. Not all of them have committed war crimes. It is important to understand that – unfortunately, crossing the border by the military during an armed conflict is not considered a crime, according to international standards. And we adhere to these standards, and the rule of law is of utmost importance for us."

Details: There is also a category of "potential suspects" whose involvement in committing war crimes is being investigated. There are tens of thousands of such soldiers.   

Belousov reported that there were 386 individuals suspected of committing war crimes. "225 of these individuals have been charged with war crimes, 54 suspects have been convicted," he specified.

Some of the suspects have received real prison sentences. "15 out of 54 sentences are real, not [handed down] in absentia. As a rule, those who get them are low-ranking military, privates or low-ranking officers because we are not able to detain generals during combat action but, luckily for us, some of them die in combat," Bielousov remarked.

In addition to that, all Russian prisoners of war are undergoing a special procedure, a screening. "If we see there are signs that a prisoner of war may have been involved in war crimes, we start to dig deeper and investigate. Far from everyone is really involved," he revealed.

Those suspected of crime of aggression are being prosecuted in absentia. "It is the top military and political leadership that is being prosecuted in absentia. In the main case concerning Russian aggression, there are 674 suspects. This is a so-called elitist crime, and the suspects are top officials. There are 312 cases in courts that fall under this category and 20 sentences. It is the MPs from the State Duma of Russia who are being sentenced," Belousov explained.  

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