Germany collects over 500 pieces of evidence of war crimes in Ukraine
German authorities have spoken about their activities in investigating Russia's war crimes in Ukraine.
Source: Bild; European Pravda
Details: According to the Federal Ministry of Justice, Germany has already collected more than 500 pieces of evidence of war crimes in Ukraine and interrogated more than 160 witnesses.
Justice Minister Marco Buschmann said that if someone gives an order to deliberately violate international criminal law, then this government official is potentially a war criminal.
Quote: "The International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for [Russian President Vladimir] Putin. I hope and wish that, at some point, he will have to stand before trial. I know that we will need a lot of patience for this," he said.
The minister pointed out that if a Russian drone is deliberately guided by a soldier into a residential building where only civilians are present, it is a war crime.
Quote: "Every photo and every video on mobile phones, for example, can help in the investigation. Anyone who deletes such materials is only helping Russian war criminals," Buschmann said.
He added that the German authorities want to convince more victims or witnesses of traumatic experiences among Ukrainians who fled to Germany to share their experiences with the police.
Background:
- Earlier, Germany announced that it had identified the Russians suspected of targeting civilians in the village of Hostomel, including a German citizen, during Berlin's first investigation into war crimes in Ukraine.
- On 19 December, the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court confirmed that it had received an appeal from former Russian intelligence colonel Igor Salikov, who fled to the Netherlands and declared his readiness to testify about Russian war crimes.
- Earlier, reports emerged that Salikov, 60, had travelled to the Netherlands and expressed his desire to testify before the International Criminal Court.
- Salikov claimed to have served 25 years, first in the Russian army and then in the Wagner Private Military Company, on whose side he fought in Syria and several African countries. He was also involved in Russia's aggression against Ukraine, first in 2014 and later in 2022.
- The Ukrainian Prosecutor General's Office later said that they had been investigating the information received from Salikov for more than six months.
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