Ukraine has provided the International Criminal Court with data on more than 1,800 prisoners taken to Russia
The Ukrainian Prosecutor General’s Office has submitted evidence of Russian war crimes to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Law enforcement officials have provided materials regarding the forced displacement and illegal detention of more than 1,800 Ukrainian prisoners from the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions in Russian penal colonies.
Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko announced this on Facebook.
"Another step toward justice: new evidence of Russian war crimes against Ukraine in The Hague. I have sent a new package of materials to the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Court regarding the deportation and illegal detention in the Russian Federation of over 1,800 Ukrainian prisoners from the Kherson and Mykolaiv regions," Kravchenko noted.
According to the Prosecutor General, in November 2022, Russian military forces forcibly transported these individuals through occupied Crimea to penal colonies in the Russian Federation.
As Kravchenko emphasized, “the evidence proves that this was a premeditated operation: from the seizure of Ukrainian prisons to the detention of people on the territory of the aggressor state.”
According to the investigation, Ukrainian prisoners in Russian penal colonies are beaten, tortured, subjected to psychological pressure, threatened with execution, and forced to build enemy military fortifications. They are forcibly granted Russian citizenship, illegally detained after serving their sentences, or re-arrested.
"These are war crimes and crimes against humanity under international humanitarian law," the Prosecutor General emphasized.
Kravchenko reported that the materials submitted to the ICC are based on the testimonies of over 400 victims and eyewitnesses, as well as an analysis of Russian court decisions, official documents, responses from Russian government agencies, and other evidence.
This outcome, Kravchenko noted, was made possible by the active stance and expert work of the civil society organization “Defense of Ukrainian Prisoners,” the European Prison Litigation Network, and the Kharkiv Human Rights Group.
"This is a striking example of coordination between government agencies and the human rights community in building an evidence base for national and international justice. Not for the sake of reporting, but to restore justice and hold Russian war criminals accountable," the Prosecutor General emphasized.
"And it will happen. It will be consistent, inevitable, and by name," Kravchenko added.
Ukrainian prisoners of war transferred to Hungary did not remain there and have returned home.
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