Since the beginning of the war, the occupiers have killed 8,500 civilians and more than 11,500 civilians were wounded. This figure does not include the atrocities that Russia has committed and is committing in the occupied territories to which Ukrainian authorities have no physical access, Prosecutor-General Andriy Kostin has said at the conference "Human Rights in Dark Times".
"The system of international law is going through dark times. Designed to protect human rights, it proved powerless to prevent Russia's aggression against Ukraine. Aggression of one UN member state against another. Every day the world sees live hundreds of war crimes committed by the Russian armed forces. This is a complete disregard for human rights... The total number of crimes related to armed aggression has already exceeded 70,000. We are talking about war crimes, genocide, crimes of aggression and national security committed by traitors and collaborators. This is an unprecedented challenge for Ukrainian and international justice," he said.
Kostin said that there is currently no article of the UN Declaration of Rights and Freedoms that Russia has not violated.
"All this shows that international law needs to be revised and improved. These changes can start with Ukraine. To be more precise, with the full ensuring of comprehensive responsibility of all those involved in the aggression against Ukraine and the Ukrainian people... More than 8,500 civilians were killed as a result of the aggression. Among them were 443 children. More than 11,500 were wounded. And this is without taking into account the atrocities committed by the enemy in the occupied territories to which we do not yet have physical access. In the course of de-occupation, we find the same pattern - violence as part of the Russian military strategy. In every liberated city and settlement we see the same thing: torture chambers and mass graves. Almost 1,000 bodies have been found in the de-occupied territories of Kharkiv, Donetsk and Kherson regions in recent months. Ninety per cent of them are civilians. Many with signs of torture: fractures, amputations of body parts, mutilated genitals, ropes around the neck, tied limbs, etc," he said.
According to him, 47 places where people were illegally detained and tortured were found.
"Men, women and even children. We have 85 criminal proceedings related to violations of the 'green corridors', which were supposed to be a way of rescue and hope for life. Prosecutors and investigators have recorded 55 facts of shelling of evacuation convoys. One of the largest ones occurred near the village of Kyrylivka, Kharkiv Region, on 25 March. Twenty-four people were killed, including 13 children and one pregnant woman," he recalled.
Law-enforcement agencies are investigating 2,500 war crimes committed against children.
"More than 13,000 forcibly deported children are known. But these are only officially established facts. The real figure may be 10 times higher. They are taken to Russia and re-educated according to the standards of Russian propaganda."
Since 24 February, the occupiers have created 27 filtration camps and prisons in the temporarily occupied territories and Russia. Passing through such camps is always associated with danger.
"Sexual violence is recorded in all liberated territories. It is massive and systematic, large-scale. Russians use it as a weapon of war and terror. There are examples when commanders gave orders directly to their subordinates to bring women for 'entertainment'. Among the victims are not only women, but also men, children and the elderly. The youngest is 4 years old, and the oldest is 82. In total, 146 cases of sexual violence have been recorded so far. But this is only the tip of the iceberg of this hidden crime."
He called for the establishment of an international tribunal to bring the top political leadership of Russia and all perpetrators to justice.