Gendarmes from France have arrived in Lviv to help investigate Russian war crimes committed around Kyiv. This was announced on Twitter by Etienne de Poncins, the French Ambassador.
"We are proud to welcome in Lviv a team of technical and scientific gendarmes who came to help their fellows from Ukraine in investigating war crimes committed around Kyiv. France is the first to provide the assistance like this," he said.
According to the Ambassador, the gendarmes will start their operation tomorrow.
Fier d'accueillir à #Lviv le détachement des gendarmes techniques et scientifiques venu assister leurs camarades 🇺🇦 dans les investigations des crimes de guerre commis autour de #Kiev. La 🇫🇷 première à apporter une telle aide. Ils seront à pied d'œuvre dès demain. Solidarité 🇫🇷🇺🇦 pic.twitter.com/3pX9LkPzeq
— Etienne de Poncins (@EdePoncins) April 11, 2022
Please be reminded that it became known after liberation of the Kiev region from occupiers about atrocities which the Russian soldiers committed in the Ukrainian cities and villages around the capital. Carla del Ponte, a former prosecutor at the UN International Tribunal for Yugoslavia and Rwanda, has already applied to the International Criminal Court for issuing an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin, the Russian President. Prosecutors of this international court have already begun collecting evidence of Russian war crimes in Ukraine.
Please read the LB's conversation with leading international lawyers to learn more details on what can be classified as a war crime, whether the Russian leadership can be held accountable for them, who can investigate this case and hold a court hearing, how long this trial can last and whether Ukraine could benefit from it.