Justice officials from five Western countries, forming the so-called “Five Eyes” alliance, announced Thursday that they support Ukraine’s legal action to try war crimes linked to the Russian invasion.
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The Ministers of Justice or Attorneys General of the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, Canada and New Zealand said in a statement “support” the action of the Attorney General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova aimed at holding accountable those responsible for “war crimes committed during the Russian invasion”.
Ukraine has opened thousands of cases of war crimes allegedly committed by Russian soldiers since February 24 – and a first trial opened this week.
“We support Ukraine’s quest for justice and through other international investigations, including the International Criminal Court” and other bodies, they said in their joint statement.
“We together condemn the actions of the Russian government and call on it to cease all violations of international law, to stop its illegal invasion and to cooperate” in order to be able to render accounts, they write.
Their speech comes the day after the first day of the trial of a Russian soldier, the first to be tried in Ukraine for a war crime since the start of the conflict.
Vadim Chichimarine is accused of having killed Oleksandre Chelipov, a 62-year-old man, on February 28 in the northeast of the country. He admitted the facts, and the prosecution demanded life imprisonment on Thursday.