Kostin: World’s best lawyers involved in investigating Russian genocide in Ukraine

Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy Kostin said this after a discussion on ways to bring the aggressor state to justice, which took place within the framework of the European Policy Center in Brussels on October 16, an Ukrinform correspondent reported.

"The UN International Commission of Inquiry is gradually coming to the recognition that Russia commits war crimes. Then they understand that some of them can be defined as crimes against humanity – this is another level and scale. The crime of genocide is even higher. We are gradually moving towards this. The world’s best specialists, who were involved in investigating genocide cases, work with us. It will take time, but I think that we will gather enough evidence so that this case ends with a guilty verdict against those who are guilty of committing this crime," said Kostin.

He noted that the crime of genocide is one of the most difficult to prove. In international practice, there were only two such precedents that ended in a guilty verdict. These are the cases considered by the international tribunal regarding the genocide in Rwanda and in the Bosnian city of Srebrenica.

"In communication with international partners, I emphasize that we cannot be limited only by those two convictions of previous international tribunals. Because the crime of genocide has a wider dimension. One of the absolutely clear elements of the crime of genocide is the case of the deportation of children, their forcible transfer... Of course, this fact alone is not enough yet. Therefore, a special group of prosecutors is working at my Office, engaged in investigating the genocide case, and we are gradually moving towards gathering a complete evidence base," the Prosecutor General emphasized.

The international community strongly condemned the Russian aggression against Ukraine in many international formats, including the UN General Assembly. Currently, at the initiative of influential international organizations and democratic countries, with the active support of the Eurojust and with the involvement of the International Criminal Court, the collection of evidence and documentation of Russian crimes in Ukraine, including war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, is ongoing.

Separately, the investigation into the crime of Russian aggression against Ukraine and the process of creating a special international tribunal to punish the highest political and military leadership of the Russian Federation continue.

Photo: Prosecutor General's Office