Court wants UN to act over war crimes
The International Criminal Court’s chief prosecutor will urge the United Nations Security Council to take ‘‘collective action’’ over war crimes in Ukraine, as investigators identify Russians they want to face justice.
Karim Khan QC will present his investigators’ initial findings at a meeting in New York. The British barrister has been in the top ICC role since last year.
Authorities in Kyiv say they are preparing charges against seven Russian servicemen, including three pilots suspected of bombing civilians.
It is understood that Khan, who this month visited Bucha, the Ukrainian town where it is alleged that atrocities took place, will outline measures his investigators implemented after he started an inquiry in March.
He is not expected to present detailed evidence to the security council, which includes Russia as a permanent member. It is understood that any substantial evidence will be presented only in court when and if trials are held.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said that in addition to the three pilots suspected of bombing civilian buildings in the Kharkiv and Sumy regions, other individuals included two operators of a rocket launcher who allegedly shelled settlements in Kharkiv. Two Russian soldiers were also being held on suspicion of murdering a man in Kyiv and raping his wife.
Officials in Ukraine said they were investigating about 7600 potential war crimes and at least 500 suspects involved in Russia’s invasion, which was launched on February 24.
Venediktova told the Reuters news agency that many suspects were in Russia, but some had been captured and were being held as prisoners of war.
She said her office planned to pursue prosecutions in Ukraine and the International Criminal Court in The Hague.
Russia has rejected claims of war crimes.
Ukraine’s government announced this month that it had instructed lawyers to co-ordinate evidence gathering to submit to the International Criminal Court.
Other prominent figures, including former British prime ministers Sir John Major and Gordon Brown, have called on Western governments to launch bespoke tribunals to hear allegations that the Kremlin has committed the crime of aggression in Ukraine. They argue that a separate tribunal is needed because Russia, being a permanent member of the UN Security Council, could block attempts to bring war crime prosecutions at the international court.
■ Russia has burnt through so much of its equipment during two months of fighting in Ukraine that it could be ‘‘years’’ before it is ready for another war, analysts believe.
Mark Cancian, from the Washington, DC think tank the Centre for Strategic and International Studies, said Russia had produced about 250 tanks and 150 aircraft annually in recent years. Based on estimates of Russian losses so far, Ukrainian forces had destroyed the equivalent of at least two years of Russian tank production and one year of aircraft production, he said.
Cancian is still analysing data for Russia’s missiles, but he estimated that the Kremlin could have already used several years of production against Ukrainian targets.
‘‘It will take years for Russia to rebuild its inventories,’’ he said.
As for any impact on the conflict under way in the eastern Donbas region, Cancian said that at some point,
Russia would have to curb its use of long-range precision missiles, which are expensive and reliant on sophisticated electronics, because its ‘‘inventories are getting low’’.
Investigative website Bellingcat has reported that Russia has probably used 70 per cent of its stockpile of precision missiles.
Western sanctions are also likely to hinder Moscow’s ability to produce spare parts.
Ukrainian military intelligence claimed this month that production of Russia’s T-72 main battle tanks had significantly slowed, while production of T-90s and T-14 Armatas, Russia’s latest ‘‘next generation’’ tank, had completely stopped.
Henry Boyd, amilitary analyst at the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, said that even if Russia could reactivate ageing equipment in ‘‘sufficient numbers’’ to be deployed in Ukraine, there would be a notable drop in standards when it came to quality.
‘‘They kept a large number of Sovietera tanks, armoured vehicles and artillery . . . but there is a question mark over whether they will have the crews to man the vehicles, and if they do, whether they have had sufficient training,’’ he said.