Since February 24, 2022, the date of the Russian offensive in Ukraine, Vladimir Putin’s troops have been accused of deliberately violating international law and engaging in the execution of civilians and acts of torture. The massacre committed in Boutcha or the bombing of the Mariupol maternity hospital are the subject of investigations by the International Criminal Court into possible war crimes.
Moscow rejects these accusations, citing staging. An argument taken up by the director of an international civil tribunal for Ukraine in Moscow, the only one to have agreed to respond to “Further investigation” (the Russian Ministries of Defense, Foreign Affairs and the Kremlin refused the magazine interview requests). Unsurprisingly, Maxim Grigoriev argues that “Most Western reports are written from staged video recordings, which we have filmed specially”.
Some videos broadcast by Russian television have been authenticated
The one whom the Russian authorities have charged with restoring their truth about the conflict claims to investigate the abuses, but those which would be committed on the Ukrainian side. Russian television channels denounce them on a loop, with images of Russian soldiers recognizable by their white armbands, tied to the ground or receiving a bullet in the knees. Can the Russian side be accused of staging in turn? “In some cases it could be a fake, other times not”, recognizes Iryna Venediktova, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Questioned by “Complement of investigation”, she affirms that investigations are launched on “everything that comes out of the media, including Russian media”.
Some of these videos have also been authenticated, such as these images shot near kyiv where a Russian soldier is executed on the ground. One of the soldiers, who appears with his face uncovered, has been identified by a news site. He is a Georgian fighter who is a member of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. But more than two months after the events, according to information available to “Complément d’Enquête”, no soldier has yet been charged in this case.
Extract from “War crimes: the face of the executioners”, a document published in “Complément d’Enquête” on June 23, 2022.
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