Western countries promise cooperation on war crimes in Ukraine

Western states that oppose Russia's invasion of Ukraine agreed at an international conference on war crimes on Thursday that they are prepared to back the prosecution of suspects and to make funds and experts available to an international tribunal.

Attendees said they were willing to work closely together with the International Criminal Court (ICC), which hosted the meeting.

Aside from the people killed by Russian military assaults, the invasion of Ukraine has been coloured repeatedly by reports of one-on-one atrocities carried out by invaders, such as rape and extrajudicial killings. After the Kyiv suburb of Bucha was liberated in April, bodies were found in the streets.

Russia also stands accused of attacking theatres, schools, hospitals and shopping centres, none of which would normally be considered wartime targets and some of which were clearly labelled as sheltering civilians during the attacks.

Russia has denied all the charges. But Russia also based its attack on a need to demilitarize and "de-Nazify" Ukraine, both goals that have been widely derided in the West.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky told the gathering that a tribunal is needed to prosecute those responsible for war crimes, and added that the politicians responsible for the attacks must not escape justice.

He also said Russia should be required to pay damages, partially in the form of property that has been impounded in the West since the war started.

Ukrainian Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova said 23,000 cases of war crimes are being investigated at the moment. Six verdicts have been rendered to date, in cases of murder, rape, plundering and destroying houses. She said 127 suspects have been identified.

Zelensky noted that his people are suffering daily due to Russian aggression. He noted a recent missile attack that killed 20.

The ICC's chief prosecutor, Karim Khan, called on the international community to strongly commit to prosecuting war crimes in Ukraine. Law should not play a secondary role, Khan said at the opening of an international conference.

"The law can not be a spectator," Khan said. "I hope, we can accelerate this process and show to the victims: The law is not impotent.

"The simple truth is that, as we speak, children, women and men, the young and the old, are living in terror. With each day, the war crimes mount. .... These are not the acts of rogue units — they fit a clear pattern across every part of Ukraine touched by Russia's forces.

Dutch Foreign Minister Wopke Hoekstra reiterated the need for a common strategy at the Ukraine Accountability Conference.

"There must not be impunity for war crimes."

EU Justice Commissioner Didier Reynders spoke of a "gigantic task."

"It requires a strong Ukrainian judicial system," Reynders said.

More than 30 ministers and prosecutors from Europe and other Western countries gathered at the session. The conference was convened by the European Commission, the Dutch Foreign Ministry and the office of the prosecutor of the ICC.

Following the first reports of alleged war crimes after the Russian invasion on February 24, the ICC launched investigations and sent the largest team of investigators ever to the war zone.

The ICC functions as a court of last resort, investigating and prosecuting cases only when affected countries are not in a position to prosecute or refuse to do so. Neither Russia nor Ukraine are member countries, but Ukraine has recognized the court's jurisdiction.