*Content Warning: This article describes scenes of alleged war crimes that might upset readers, including mentions of murder and rape.
On April 3, Ukraine started investigating war crimes after bodies of civilians were found on the streets outside Kyiv after Russian troops pulled out of areas around the capital. Ukrainian authorities say 410 civilian bodies have been found in the areas around Kyiv since the start of the war, many in unmarked mass graves.
So far, in the relatively short span of the war, every single hospital in the city has been struck at least once by shells or airstrikes, with a total of at least 37 Russian strikes on medical facilities across Ukraine. It is reported there have been at least 50 deaths due to these brutal bombings.
This was not the first report of alleged war crimes committed by Russian forces.
A Russian airstrike devastated a maternity hospital in the port of Mariupol and wounded at least 17 people, Ukrainian officials said. This triggered international condemnation from Washington, London, the Vatican and others.
A report published on April 3, 2022, recorded an account of an incident in Bucha, Ukraine on March 4 in which Russian soldiers forced five men “to kneel on the side of the road, pulled their T-shirts over their heads and shot one of the men in the back of the head.”
The most chilling challenge emerging after Russia’s retreat from the Kyiv area is Russia’s systematic sexual violence inside Ukraine. There have been a truly depressing number of accounts of sexual violence so far in this war.
The accountability and punishment for officers overseeing sexual war crimes is really the only message that will impact. These monsters should be investigated and prosecuted swiftly. Predators are as destructive as chemical weapons but are never prosecuted as vigorously. There must be a change.
President Volodymyr Zelensky does not doubt that Russian troops are committing war crimes.
“The world has already seen many war crimes … But it is time to do everything possible to make the war crimes of the Russian Military the last manifestation of such evil on earth,” he said.
The world is shocked and outraged in response to the actions of the Russian military, with more horrifying allegations against the Russians coming out each day. On April 4, President Joe Biden seconded Ukraine’s president in calling for a war crimes trial against Russian President Vladimir Putin.
“You saw what happened in Bucha,” Biden said. He added that Putin is a war criminal. Biden’s words on Russia’s actions triggered international condemnation from Berlin, London and the Vatican, among others. In fact, only five countries voted against the UN’s resolution to condemn Russia.
Even with widespread global outrage, experts believe it will take years after the end of the fighting for Ukrainian war crime trials to even begin. War crimes cannot just be declared by presidents during press conferences; there are long, complex avenues to explore prosecuting the agitators of war crimes, and trials take years more often than not.
A trial held by the International Criminal Court (ICC) will bring justice to these crimes. The court is empowered to investigate countries in their jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes and genocide and crimes against humanity (including murder and rape when it’s part of a widespread, systematic attack).
The ICC is a well-oiled machine and is excellent at what they do. The only issue is that the ICC generally only has jurisdiction in 126 countries, notably not including Russia, Ukraine, or the United States. Ukraine has recently granted the court jurisdiction to prosecute war crimes which can proceed without the need for Russia’s consent.
The crime of aggression — which makes it illegal to invade another country — is by far the most straightforward crime to prove. The manner of Russia’s invasion would certainly qualify them under the classic definition of the crime, but prosecuting the crime of aggression would require consent from Russia. There are just too many barriers and roadblocks in place for the ICC to dish out any swift justice to Russia, at least for the time being.
One can only hope for a quick end to what has already been a more drawn-out conflict than experts could’ve predicted. Hopefully, the international attention to these atrocities will encourage compliance with the international agreements we have in place.
