Over 31,000 war crimes: prosecutor outlines scale of Russian crimes in Kharkiv region
20 February 21:10
More than 31,000 war crimes committed by Russian military personnel and their accomplices are being investigated in the Kharkiv region. Among the suspects are Russian military personnel, mercenaries, and members of illegal armed groups. This was reported in an interview with the YouTube channel "Komersant Ukrainian"
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According to him, the scale of the documented crimes is unprecedented.
“Prosecutors from the Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor’s Office and investigators are investigating more than 31,000 war crimes. In these crimes, 186 people have been notified of suspicion. Unfortunately, 169 of them are in absentia.
An indictment against 149 individuals has been sent to court. Twenty convictions have already been handed down against 29 individuals,” he said.
Among those convicted are military personnel of the aggressor state and representatives of illegal formations.
“Among them are 24 military personnel of the Russian Federation and two mercenaries from the private military company Redut. To give you an idea, not only the private military company Wagner fought on the territory of Ukraine, but also the private military company Redut. One citizen of Ukraine and two members of the illegal armed group known as the DPR,” he added.
According to Filchakov, most of the crimes were directed against the civilian population.
“In general, I can say that all these crimes were directed against the civilian population. Most of them were against women, children, and the elderly. This is a tactic of aggressive warfare on the part of the Russian Federation. It is aimed, first and foremost, at intimidating the civilian population,” he said.
The prosecutor also provided general statistics on civilian casualties.
“A lot of civilians have been affected, and currently there are about 3,200 civilian casualties. As a result of the Russian Federation’s armed aggression in the city and region, 107 children have unfortunately been killed. About 8,000 civilians have been wounded. Among them, unfortunately, are 628 children,” he said.
Filchakov also recalled one of the tragic episodes of massive shelling of Kharkiv in May 2022.
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“I remember May 2022, when the Russian military shelled the central part of Kharkiv for three and a half hours during the day using heavy powerful Pion self-propelled guns. A five-month-old baby and his father were killed. They were walking down the street, the baby was lying in a stroller. The blast wave threw him onto the roof of an apartment building.
His mother was also injured and taken to hospital with multiple wounds. At that time, nine civilians were killed as a result of this massive shelling, and 19 more suffered injuries of varying severity,” he added.
Among the most common war crimes investigated by law enforcement agencies are intentional killings, torture, rape, and looting.
“There are a large number of criminal proceedings for looting. These are also war crimes,” Filchakov said.
Filchakov stressed that Ukrainian law enforcement agencies continue to document every crime and are working to bring the perpetrators to justice.
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