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Millions of refugees, the use of banned weapons and civilians targeted… The notion of “war crime” is now taken up by several international leaders. The International Criminal Court opened an investigation on March 3.
The bombing of the maternity ward Mariupol (Ukraine)Friday, March 9, causing at least three deaths, a family killed in Irpin (Ukraine) Few days ago as she tried to run away… Possible war crimes are already at the center of multiple investigations. On the weekend of March 18, in the streets of Mykolaiv (Ukraine), strikes hit a residential area. A Ukrainian soldier, camera in hand, “documents Russian crimes against civilians” and “collects evidence for future trials“.
To demonstrate a war crime, listing the death of civilians is not enough, it must be proven that it is voluntary, that an order has been given to target them and that they are not collateral victims. The testimonies of captured soldiers are valuable elements. But they are not the only ones: journalists, residents and all those who have images of the conflict can provide clues. Already almost 2,000 reports have been received according to the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.
Investigations are also carried out by NGOs outside Ukraine, such as Amnesty International investigators in Berlin (Germany), who verify the authenticity of videos on social networks. The International Criminal Court has been investigating since March 3.