Bodnar in Kyiv: Poland ready to track down Russian war criminals

Minister of Justice, Prosecutor General Adam Bodnar took part in the conference "United for Justice. United for Heritage". The event was held in Kyiv less than a week after the second anniversary of Russian aggression against Ukraine.

"We are in favor of prosecuting and justly punishing the perpetrators of war crimes, and we are ready to track them down, gather evidence of these crimes, and continue to cooperate in this area," Bodnar said, reiterating the need to establish a special international tribunal for the crime of aggression, of which the Ukrainian people are the victim.

"The existence of such a court is an important element from the point of view of international responsibility," the minister declared.

Bodnar stressed that Poland supports international efforts to establish a court for the crime of aggression and will do its utmost to cooperate with the International Criminal Court (ICC).

The minister also recalled that tens of thousands of Ukrainian refugees staying in Poland could testify before the special tribunal as part of the investigation against the Russian Federation for crimes committed in Ukraine.

The justice ministry said in a statement on its website that "Polish prosecutors in the investigative team actively cooperate with prosecutors from Eurojust (European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation and Ukraine), using their knowledge of specialized forensic methods in investigations into war crimes".

Furthermore, together with Polish law enforcement agancies, Poland's justice ministry has also "taken steps to prevent impunity for the perpetrators of these crimes and to document them". "As part of these activities, the Polish prosecutor's office has initiated criminal proceedings concerning the aggressive war directed against the sovereignty, territorial integrity, and political independence of Ukraine."

"Poland is also involved in the work of the ICPA (International Center for the Prosecution of the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine). This organization was established in July of last year at the International Criminal Court in The Hague. Under its auspices, independent prosecutors from different countries cooperate to exchange evidence and establish a common investigative and prosecutorial strategy," we read at in the statement.