Russia is investigating the Ukrainian military. It’s about crimes against the civilian population – and a non-“Western-dominated” tribunal.
Moscow – Russia wants to try more than 200 Ukrainians for crimes against humanity before an international tribunal. Such a high court does not yet exist; it must first be created. Three countries are already signaling support.
Russia wants to put Ukrainians before its own tribunal
The United Nations is “west-dominated,” said the head of Russia’s investigative committee, Alexander Bastrykin, in an interview with the state-run newspaper Rossiyskaya Gazeta on Monday. Therefore, a tribunal should instead be led by a partner organization of Russia. According to him, Bolivia, Iran and Syria, among others, have expressed an interest in participating.
The trio has close ties with Russia. Just a few days ago, Kremlin chief Vladimir Putin traveled to the Syria summit, in which Iran was also involved. Russia is militarily active in Syria. A day after the meeting, Syria severed diplomatic ties with Ukraine.
Bolivia is of particular interest to Russia because of its lithium reserves. “Bolivia is one of Russia’s priority partners in the Latin American and Caribbean region,” said Foreign Minister Lavrov. The sympathies are mutual – as shown by the voting behavior on the UN resolution condemning the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
- Bolivia: abstained from UN resolution
- Iran: abstained from UN resolution
- Syria: rejected UN resolution as one of five states.
Ukraine War: Russia opens 1300 Donbass trials
The International Criminal Court has been investigating Russian war crimes in Ukraine since the beginning of the month. Now Russia wants to do the same for Ukraine. Specifically, it is about “crimes against the civilian population” in Donbass – the place where the Ukraine conflict began in 2014.
According to Russian information, more than 1,300 criminal proceedings against more than 400 people have already been initiated in the border region. In the preliminary investigations, a good 220 people were convicted of crimes against humanity and peace – charges that have not expired. “92 commanders and their subordinates were charged, and 96 others, including 51 Ukrainian officers, were wanted,” Bastrykin reported.
The former college friend of Kremlin boss Vladimir Putin also reported on investigations against Britons, Americans, Canadians, Dutch and Georgians for mercenary activities. They are accused of having fought on the side of Ukraine in the war. The separatists in Donetsk, allied with the Russians, have already sentenced two Britons and a Moroccan to death for this reason. The appeal process is still ongoing. (as/dpa)
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