Judiciary officials from five Western countries forming the so-called “Five Eyes” alliance announced on Thursday that they support Ukraine’s legal action to try war crimes linked to the Russian invasion.
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The justice ministers or prosecutors general of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand said in a statement that they “support” the action of Ukraine’s Attorney General Iryna Venediktova aimed at bringing those responsible for “committed during this period” to justice War crimes” to account for the Russian invasion”.
Ukraine has opened thousands of war crimes files allegedly committed by Russian soldiers since February 24 – and a first trial opened this week.
“We support Ukraine’s pursuit of justice and through other international investigations, including the International Criminal Court” and other bodies, they said in their joint statement.
“We jointly condemn the actions of the Russian government and call on them to stop all violations of international law, stop their illegal invasion and work together” to be accountable, they write.
Her speech comes the day after the first day of the trial of a Russian soldier, the first to be tried for a war crime in Ukraine since the conflict began.
Vadim Chichimarine is accused of killing 62-year-old Oleksandre Chelipov on February 28 in the northeast of the country. He admitted the facts, and prosecutors asked for life imprisonment on Thursday.