(OTTAWA) Ukraine is currently conducting more than 28,000 investigations into possible war crimes committed by the Russian military, including the murder of 373 children, according to the country’s ambassador to Canada.
Posted at 10:04 p.m.
According to Yulia Kovaliv, the investigations currently being carried out concern in particular the kidnapping of children and the murder of civilians trying to flee the war. Teams are trying to find evidence of these crimes and some Canadians are helping in the search.
“We want to properly document every possible crime and we will bring Russia to justice,” said Mr.me Kovaliv during an interview with The Canadian Press, during which she had to respond to a call from Ukraine’s attorney general about the matter.
Mme Kovaliv argued that Russia is not just trying to invade Ukraine, but to wipe out the country’s entire cultural heritage.
She claimed that Russian soldiers go so far as to burn books on the history of Ukraine, bombard museums and churches, in addition to forcing students in schools in besieged territory to speak Russian in class.
“Russia is now trying to eliminate Ukrainian culture from the territories it has invaded and wants to give Russian passports to residents. The Ukrainians refuse to bend, even under threat. »
Russia is also waging a war on energy, explained Mr.me Kovaliv, since his forces have now bombed almost 90% of Ukraine’s wind farms and solar power plants.
Nevertheless, Ukraine is trying to boost the supply of electricity that it exports to neighboring European countries.
The situation at a Russian-occupied nuclear power plant — the largest in Europe — is serious, however, according to the ambassador. The Ukrainians are trying to “prevent a catastrophe” in the presence of armed Russian soldiers.
“There is military equipment in the nuclear power plant…it’s a huge risk,” she warned.
On Wednesday, the ambassador will use Ukrainian Independence Day to organize the auction of a piece of Russian missile that crashed on a base where Canadian soldiers once conducted military training sessions for recruits Ukrainians. The profits from this sale will be used to help Ukraine in its fight against the Russian army.
Mme Kovaliv recovered the shrapnel fragment just before leaving for Canada to take up her new role as ambassador last April.
Moreover, since her arrival in Canada, Ms.me Kovaliv was moved by the generosity and support offered by Canadians across the country, especially seeing the amount of “blue and yellow”, the two colors of the Ukrainian flag, displayed everywhere.
She also takes photos with her cell phone and sends them to her Ukrainian friends who are at the front, to show that Canadians stand together.
“It’s important that the people who are on the ground every day and who suffer the bombardments know that the whole world is behind them,” said Ms.me Kovaliv.