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Over 190,000 War Crimes: Ukraine Briefs UN on Scale of Russia’s Atrocities

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Photo of Vlad Litnarovych
Vlad Litnarovych
News Writer
A man walks on a street with several dead bodies on the ground in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, as Ukraine says Russian forces are retreating from northern areas around Kyiv and the city of Chernihiv, on April 2, 2022. (Source: Getty Images)
A man walks on a street with several dead bodies on the ground in Bucha, northwest of Kyiv, as Ukraine says Russian forces are retreating from northern areas around Kyiv and the city of Chernihiv, on April 2, 2022. (Source: Getty Images)

Ukraine’s Office of the Prosecutor General has presented the United Nations with evidence documenting more than 190,000 war crimes committed by Russia since the start of its full-scale invasion, calling the atrocities part of a “planned state policy to destroy the Ukrainian nation” on November 4.

Deputy Prosecutor General Andrii Leshchenko met with representatives of the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine, led by Erik Møse, to discuss progress in documenting and investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity.

According to Leshchenko, Ukraine has so far charged 1,029 Russian military personnel, sent 747 indictments to court, and secured 206 convictions.

“What we are witnessing is a planned state policy aimed at destroying the Ukrainian nation,” Leshchenko said. “That is why our investigations focus not only on direct perpetrators but, above all, on the political and military leadership of the aggressor state.”

The meeting also addressed coordination between Ukrainian and international investigators to ensure comprehensive evidence sharing. Leshchenko emphasized that the scale and systematic nature of Russian actions amount to crimes of genocide.

Yurii Rud, head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict, reported that Russian attacks on civilians are intensifying.

“In just the first nine months of this year, more than 5,100 drone attacks against civilians have been recorded—twice as many as during all of 2024,” Rud said, noting that such actions bear the hallmarks of crimes against humanity.

Participants discussed the UN Commission’s latest report, which documents widespread violence against civilians in occupied and frontline areas — including systematic drone strikes on civilian targets and the forced deportation of residents from occupied territories.

Both sides underscored the importance of continued cooperation and data exchange to ensure the full and objective documentation of Russia’s war crimes.

Earlier, Russian occupation authorities in Mariupol announced the completion of “restoration work” on the city’s drama theater, which was destroyed by a Russian airstrike in March 2022.

The word “CHILDREN” (“ДЕТИ”) was written in large letters outside the building. At least 600 people were killed in the attack, making it one of the deadliest incidents of Russia’s full-scale invasion.

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