The Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has sent a motion to the International Criminal Court about the extrajudicial killings of nine servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine during the battles of Ilovaisk and Debaltseve.
The motion to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (OP ICC) was prepared and sent based on Article 15 of the Rome Statute by lawyers of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union jointly with prosecutors of the Department of Oversight of Criminal Proceedings with respect to crimes committed in armed conflict, the PGO press service reports.
It is noted that in the essence of the motion lie the facts of extrajudicial executions of nine Ukrainian Army servicemen by representatives of the pro-Russian organized group "Don Army Oblast Cossack Union" during the battles of Ilovaisk in 2014 and Debaltseve in 2015. The information filed will be examined by the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court along with other episodes of grave violations of international humanitarian law committed by pro-Russian forces in eastern Ukraine in 2014-2019.
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"Ukraine provided photo and video evidence that directly indicates the fact of the capture of the Ukrainian military, testimonies of eyewitnesses to the killings of prisoners, documents confirming the death of military personnel in captivity," the statement said.
The report also highlights "the practice of conducting military operations by proxy," that is, Russia involving in the conflict and controlling the illegal armed groups.
In addition, the Office of the Prosecutor was informed that the illegal armed groups mentioned could be used by Russia not only to achieve military superiority, but also to commit grave violations of international humanitarian law.
It is noted that the Prosecutor General of Ukraine continues to collect evidence of Russia waging an aggressive war against Ukraine, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in order to ensure the inevitability of punishment.
