Zelenskyy: More than 183,000 crimes related to Russian aggression recorded
As of today, more than 183,000 crimes related to Russian aggression have been recorded, and this is without access to a significant part of the temporarily occupied territory of Ukraine, Russia should not escape fair responsibility for what it has done, emphasized Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
“More than 183,000 crimes related to the aggression of the Russian Federation have already been documented. And this is even without access to a significant part of the temporarily occupied territory of our state – where there are thousands, possibly tens of thousands, perhaps even hundreds of thousands of crimes and undoubtedly tens of thousands of losses,” Zelenskyy said, speaking at the summit of heads of parliaments.
He added that among all this are thousands of extremely brutal atrocities -executions of prisoners, executions of civilians, rape, torture.
“No one in Europe would want their children, God forbid, to be in the vicinity of these Russian criminals. We need an effective international law to guarantee the protection of our people and all European society from such threats,” the President stressed.
He recalled the crimes committed by Russians in Bucha, the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv region, in Mariupol, and noted that Ukraine remembers the catastrophe of every such place in the country, every village.
“We remember each Russian strike. We remember how they destroyed our people – our prisoners of war – in Olenivka. We remember how people were tortured in Izolyatsia in Donetsk – a prison that became the embodiment of the ‘Russian world.’ One of the most significant and most telling symbols of the Russian system and this Russian war against Ukraine is the graves of ordinary people in the yards of their own homes,” Zelenskyy added.
He stressed that these are crimes not only of the Russian state, but also of specific individuals, each of whom must be convicted for everything they have done, and added that Ukraine will not forgive Russia for its crimes and this war.
The President asked those present at the summit to observe a minute of silence in memory of the victims.
In addition, he noted the need to put pressure on the Russian Federation, in particular sanctions, so that the war and abuses do not expand. Zelenskyy asked the parliamentarians present to continue to support Ukrainian defense, to support the desire for peace, to spread the truth about this unjust war and "to support everything that is necessary for a dignified peace and real accountability for war criminals."
“It is something that can happen in any European country if our unity does not work now to genuinely hold Russia accountable for this war,” the head of the state summed up.