EU assists Ukraine in investigating war crimes committed by Russian occupiers – all those responsible to be brought to justice
The European Union is working concretely to assist Ukraine in investigating war crimes committed by Russian aggressors in Ukraine to ensure those responsible are brought to justice.
A number of announcements regarding this work in Brussels on Wednesday were made by representative of the European Commission Christian Wiegand.
The official said that yesterday, European Commissioner Didier Reynders sent a letter to the justice ministers of the EU member states with proposals for further coordination at the political level. Gathering evidence and supporting the investigation of crimes of war is another area where the Commission, together with Member States and partners, can take the necessary actions.
According to Wiegand, in the letter, the European Commissioner asked the ministers to help satisfy the list of requests received from the Ukrainian Prosecutor General.
The representative of the European Commission said that this includes documents needed to investigate crimes of war, experts with forensic experience, equipment for secure storage of evidence, secure lines of communication and training for investigators. The EU also calls on Member States to help with this request and it will continue to coordinate these efforts, the official said.
Wiegand also announced work to amend the legislation governing the activities of the EU agency that deals with judicial cooperation in criminal matters between the authorities of Eurojust member states, in order to provide "legislative opportunities for the collection and storage of evidence of war crimes, in particular, audio and video recordings.
He said that while Eurojust has practical experience in international crimes, the existing legislation does not provide for a situation of this magnitude and crimes of this degree. The European Commission wants to make this proposal in the coming days, Wiegand said.
In addition, the representative of the European Commission said the EU has already established a joint investigation team with Ukraine to collect evidence and investigate the crime of war, which will also cooperate with the International Criminal Court. Wiegand said this team, with the support of Eurojust, will be a hub for a quick exchange of information between prosecutors. The work continues, and the commission supports Ukraine by providing experts and equipment.
According to him, the commission supports all these efforts financially through the financing of equipment, the work of experts, and the training of local authorities in order to investigate war crimes.
The representative of the European Commission said the EU is also launching a fund worth EUR 7.5 million to support the investigation, the collection of information regarding the missing.
Wiegand said there will be no impunity for those responsible for the brutality and war crimes in Ukraine – they will be held accountable.
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