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Poland vows to help Ukraine hunt down war criminals

02.03.2022 20:30
Poland's government has promised support to Ukraine in bringing war criminals to justice.
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.
Polish Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro.Photo: PAP/Leszek Szymański

Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told reporters this week that he had "ordered Poland's prosecution service to open an investigation into the crime of aggressive war" against Ukraine.

"We will document Russia's criminal actions so that the perpetrators of these crimes can be brought to international criminal responsibility," he added.

"Terrible things are happening in Ukraine," Ziobro told a news conference on Tuesday. "Women and children are dying."

He added: "This requires solidarity, also in the area of legal assistance. I spoke to the Ukrainian prosecutor-general, who asked for support, and I declared that we will provide such support."

Ziobro on Sunday spoke to Ukrainian Prosecutor-General Iryna Venediktova, Poland's PAP news agency reported.

He later related that he had "given assurances of Polish support for Ukraine and promised help in bringing to justice war criminals acting on behalf of Russia."

Ziobro, who is both minister of justice and public prosecutor-general in Poland, shared the conclusions of his talks with Ukraine's Venediktova in a tweet on Sunday evening.

That same day Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said that Ukraine had lodged a case against Russia in the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague.

Venediktova, meanwhile, said that all cases of Russian shootings against civilian targets were being recorded.

She added that Ukraine was gathering evidence of Russian wartime actions to deliver to The Hague court.

ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan last week expressed concern about the Russian invasion, saying that the court might launch an investigation into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.

Khan announced on Monday that he had "decided to proceed with opening an investigation.” 

Poland’s Foreign Minister Zbigniew Rau told the United Nations on Wednesday that Russia's authorities were showing contempt for human rights in their assault on Ukraine and its people.

(pt/gs)

Source: PAP