Europol identifies 150 suspects of Russian war crimes in Ukraine
Europol, Europe's law enforcement cooperation agency, analyzed 7,000 videos and pictures and gathered the testimony of 550 witnesses in Ukraine to come up with a list of 150 alleged Russian war crimes suspects.
Catherine de Bolle, the executive director of Europol, said on March 31 that the agency was working hand in hand with the International Criminal Court (ICC), Ukrinform reported.
The list will serve as support to help the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, law enforcement officers of Ukraine, and the ICC investigate Russian war crimes in Ukraine, de Bolle said.
She announced it during the "United for justice" conference in Bucha on March 31, on the sidelines of the first anniversary of the liberation of Bucha, a town now synonymous with Russian war crimes against civilians.
Bucha, a small city near Kyiv, was occupied by Russian troops shortly after the full-scale invasion of Ukraine began in February 2022. After it was liberated, mass graves were discovered, and thousands of war crimes were documented.
According to estimates, Russian troops killed over 1,400 people, including 37 children, in Bucha over 33 days of occupation and committed over 9,000 war crimes.
Ukraine’s Prosecutor General’s Office said on March 28 that the Russian military has committed 76,753 war crimes and crimes of aggression in Ukraine since the start of Russia’s all-out war.
The number of casualties due to Russia’s war is reportedly higher as it does not include casualties in Russian-occupied territories or where intense hostilities are taking place.
Ukraine could create a war crimes tribunal for Russian leadership within a year to a year and a half, according to Andrii Smyrnov, deputy head of the Ukrainian president's office.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen announced on Nov. 30 that the EU was working on setting up an international tribunal for the Russian crime of aggression in its invasion of Ukraine.
The Kyiv Independent news desk
