UKRAINE, Mar 29 — The Prosecutor’s Office has documented more than 124,000 war crimes committed by Russia on the territory of Ukraine, which led to the damage or destruction of more than 150,000 civilian objects.

Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin reported on the current results of the war crimes investigation and prosecution during a national telethon.

In particular, the Russian army has damaged or destroyed residential buildings, critical infrastructure, energy facilities, schools, kindergartens, hospitals, and cultural and religious institutions in Ukraine. At the same time, part of the territory of Ukraine remains temporarily occupied, so it is currently impossible to document the real scale of war crimes.

Ukraine is the first country in the world to investigate environmental crimes and cyberattacks as war crimes.

“The highest priority in investigations are crimes in which people suffer, such as murder, injury, torture, sexual violence, enforced disappearances, and forced deportation of children and adults. As well as crimes where it is possible to establish a chain of command,” said Andrii Kostin.

He noted that nine specialized units for investigating war crimes have been set up in the frontline regions and that there are also units for crimes of conflict-related sexual violence and war crimes against the environment. In parallel, a support system for victims and witnesses of Russian crimes is being developed.

As of today, law enforcement officers have identified and served suspicion notices to 540 representatives of the Russian Federation, including 24 through in-person proceedings. Police have brought cases against 365 people to court. And 102 people have been sentenced.

“When I talk to our partners and tell them about the results of our national investigations, they are sincerely surprised that we not only document these crimes but also investigate and secure court convictions. No other country has done this — investigated war crimes during a full-scale war,” noted Andrii Kostin.

In total, law enforcement officers in the Kharkiv Oblast are investigating more than 21,000 Russian war crimes, of which nearly 15,000 are related to attacks on civilian objects. More than a thousand people are registered as abducted or missing. Law enforcement officials are working with the International Criminal Court to investigate cases of torture, deprivation of liberty, and sexual violence.

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