Three Russian pilots suspected of bombing civilian buildings in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions are among at least seven Russian military personnel that Kyiv is preparing war crimes charges against, the Ukrainian prosecutor general’s office told Reuters.
It said the other individuals include two operators of a rocket launcher who allegedly shelled settlements in the Kharkiv region and two army servicemen suspected of murdering a Kyiv area resident and raping his wife.
The prosecutor’s office said it had notified the individuals that they are suspects and the investigations are ongoing, adding no charges had been filed with the court. It didn’t name the suspects or provide evidence to support the allegations. It said some of the suspects were held as captives, without specifying where, while other charges were being prepared in absentia.
Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24, Ukraine says it is investigating 7,600 suspected war crimes and at least 500 suspects. Many of the suspects are in Russia, but some have been taken prisoner by Ukraine as prisoners of war, according to Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova. In an interview earlier this month, she stated that her office plans to follow the Russian political and military hierarchy’s line of command.
Venediktova further stated that she intends to file charges in both Ukrainian courts and the International Criminal Court in The Hague, which is the world’s permanent war crimes tribunal.
Requests for reaction from the Kremlin and Russia’s defence ministry went unanswered. Ukraine and Western countries have levelled claims against Moscow, which Moscow has denied.
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