Most recently, a mass grave for some 440 victims was uncovered in Izjumi. An example of atrocities committed by Russian troops is the devastating evidence uncovered in July at a former summer camp in Bucha. Corpses of men dressed in civilian clothes revealing burns, bruises and other lacerations alongside equipment for waterboarding was found. A report described how Russian soldiers had kept 25 girls aged 14-24 in a basement where they were gang-raped.
An OSCE investigation also details the forcible relocation of Ukrainian civilians elsewhere in Ukraine or into Russia – actions that Violate the Geneva Conventions. This clearly shows Russia’s intention to replace antagonistic populations with those loyal to Moscow and to avoid local resistance attempts. British intelligence assessed in July that more than 2.5 million Ukrainians had been “evacuated” from Russian-occupied areas.
We ask whether the Russian military chain of command, from Putin down, had been involved in the wide-scale occurrences of war crimes, which, according to legal specialists must be proved, for any successful conviction of the supreme leader. The prosecution must demonstrate that the violations were not just a lack of military oversight or isolated incidents.
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