Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that around 70,000 war crimes had been committed during the conflict in Ukraine, as the country moves to open an International Criminal Court (ICC) office.
Zelenskyy hoped that the opening of the ICC office in Ukraine would ensure the protection of human rights and help end the conflict in the region.
Ukrainian president said that officials still do not know about all the war crimes that have been committed during the conflict and they cannot predict how many will be discovered after Ukrainian forces liberate the territory Russia has taken. “However, it is clear how serious these crimes are. What the scale of the criminal manifestations of Russia’s aggression is,” the Ukrainian president said. “We remember everything.”
“We remember thousands of terrorist attacks by missiles, thousands of terrorist attacks by drones – attacks against our people. We remember dozens of cities and villages in Ukraine burned by Russia” he said.
Russia’s war on Ukraine has entered its second year, as the world is witnessing the deadliest conflict in Europe since World War II.
During his speech n the western Ukrainian city of Lviv, Zelenskyy mentioned specific war crimes that took place in Ukraine, including the burning and stacking of bodies and the execution of unarmed civilians in Bucha. He also mentioned that as Russian forces have retreated, Ukrainians have discovered torture chambers and mass graves.
He said the world has a moral and legal responsibility to the “victims of Russian terror,” and any other country that might be threatened by Russian aggression must hold Russia accountable for their own security.
On Friday, Zelenskyy met with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and top European legal officials and called for Russia to face international prosecution for war crimes.
Ukraine EU membership talks
In a separate development, European Parliament President Roberta Metsola made an unannounced trip to Lviv and discussed Ukraine’s bid to join the EU with President Zelenskyy. This was her second visit to the country since Russia’s invasion.
She promised him that cooperation between Kyiv and the EU parliament would “only grow stronger”, and hoped that Ukraine would be allowed to begin European Union membership negotiations this year. “I am hopeful that accession negotiations can begin already this year,” Metsola said.
On social media app Telegram, Zelenskyy thanked Metsola and the European Parliament for their support. He wrote: “Ukraine aims to complete the implementation of the recommendations of the European Commission as soon as possible and to start negotiations on joining the EU already this year.”
Brussels granted Kyiv formal candidate status in June last year. The move opened an exhaustive legal process that could last many years but Zelenskyy wants to wrap it up as soon as possible.
