A team of investigators from the Netherlands and the Czech Republic has recently concluded a six-week mission in Ukraine on behalf of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Their primary objective was to gather evidence related to the damage inflicted upon critical and civilian infrastructure. The group’s leader informed Reuters about their activities.
During the autumn and winter, Russia orchestrated attacks on Ukraine’s energy infrastructure, resulting in significant damage to approximately half of the system. The Ukrainian government considers this to be a war crime, while Moscow argues that its targets in Ukraine were legitimate.
The head of the joint Dutch and Czech investigative mission, Maud Droogh, refrained from providing specific details regarding their investigations. However, she mentioned that the team operated in multiple locations in southern and eastern Ukraine. Droogh emphasized that their overall goal was to hold accountable those individuals who bear the greatest responsibility for these war crimes, focusing on the key players rather than minor actors. The group consisted of 45 investigators, predominantly from the Netherlands, with a few from the Czech Republic.
In March of this year, the ICC issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russian children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova in connection with the forced deportations of children from Ukraine. Reuters reported shortly before the announcement of the indictments that the ICC intended to prosecute Russian officials for their attacks on civilian infrastructure in Ukraine. However, this has not yet come to fruition.
Russia does not acknowledge the ICC’s jurisdiction and, on May 19, issued an arrest warrant for ICC chief prosecutor Karim Khan.
Droogh explained that the ICC would determine whether to pursue further prosecutions based on the evidence gathered by her team. The affected areas where they collected evidence varied in size, sometimes requiring hours of work on-site, while other instances demanded days. Various techniques, including 3D mapping and the examination of weapons and ammunition, were employed. Droogh mentioned that the investigators plan to return to Ukraine in October.
Ukraine accuses Russia of deliberately targeting civilian infrastructure to instill fear and break the morale of its citizens. Moscow vehemently denies these allegations.
The Czech military police’s mission in Ukraine received approval from the House of Commons in early April. The decision allowed for up to 15 military police officers to support the ICC team’s investigations into crimes committed in Ukraine.
Source: ceskenoviny.cz
