Ukrainian and Western officials gather in Berlin for war crimes conference

Ukrainian and Western officials gathered in Berlin to discuss how to assist with investigating Russian war crimes and bring perpetrators to justice, the Prosecutor's General Office reports. 

Prosecutor General Andrii Kostin attending the conference said Ukraine is overcoming challenges in the field of justice when it comes to investigating more than 120,000 war crimes committed by the Russian forces since 2022.

"The crimes that are being committed in Ukraine cannot and will not go unpunished," said the head of the department, Marco Bushman, opening the conference.

Steps have already been taken at both the international and national levels to investigate and document war crimes.

The war is ongoing, and the amount of material to be collected is very large, which is a challenge, the minister said.

Democratic societies must do everything to keep Putin "in check," he said.

The German minister also noted that the measures taken by the international community are already in place as proved by Putin's absence at the BRICS summit in South Africa.

Western allies are discussing international support for Ukraine in the investigation of war crimes, challenges and new approaches to investigating such crimes, support for victims, etc.

Photo: Prosecutor General's Office

Kostin met with Acting German Prosecutor General Lars Otte in Berlin to discuss deepening international legal assistance in bringing Russia to justice for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Ukraine highly appreciates Germany's efforts to ensure Russia's accountability for international crimes.

German allies collected more than 500 pieces of evidence, interviewed 160 witnesses, and now are conducting a structural investigation of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

Since the beginning of the full-scale war, Ukrainian police have opened more than 105,000 criminal proceedings over war crimes committed by Russian troops.