Zelensky says Russia has committed over 183,000 war crimes in Ukraine
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Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said the tally of war crimes documented by Kyiv since Russia's February 2022 full-scale invasion did not include most of the Ukrainian territory Russia currently occupies.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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KYIV - Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky called on March 31 for Russia to be punished for more than 183,000 alleged war crimes documented by Ukraine since Moscow’s 2022 invasion, saying justice was needed to prevent “evil from proliferating”.
He made his comments to a summit of European officials in Bucha, where Russian troops have been accused of atrocities including executions, rapes and torture while occupying it. Bucha is a town north-west of the Ukrainian capital Kyiv.
Russia did not immediately comment after business hours on Mr Zelensky's remarks, but has previously denied its soldiers have committed atrocities
"More than 183,000 crimes related to Russia's aggression against Ukraine have been officially documented," Mr Zelensky said on the third anniversary of Russian troops being forced out of Bucha.
He added that the tally documented by Ukraine since the February 2022 full-scale invasion did not include most of the Ukrainian territory Russia currently occupies.
"We need effective international law to guarantee the protection of our people and all European society from such threats," Mr Zelensky said.
"Justice must be served to prevent evil from proliferating. Pressure on Russia and sanctions against it are necessary to ensure that the war and abuse do not expand further."
The vast majority of war crimes cases against Russia are being investigated by Ukraine and tried locally. The International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, which Ukraine officially joined in 2025, has also conducted investigations into high-profile cases.
The US and Russia do not recognise the court's jurisdiction, and US President Donald Trump has authorised economic and travel sanctions against the war crimes tribunal over its investigations of US citizens or US allies.
A US freeze of foreign funding has also impacted an international effort to hold Russia responsible for alleged war crimes
A spokesman for Ukraine's Foreign Ministry expressed cautious optimism in February that the ICC sanctions would not affect Ukraine-related investigations.
Honouring Bucha victims
The ICC has issued an arrest warrant for Russian President Vladimir Putin
Mr Zelensky, with First Lady Olena Zelenska and visiting European officials, paid tribute to the victims of Russia's month-long occupation of Bucha in 2022. Russian troops left bodies lying in the streets
Russian forces committed more than 9,000 crimes in the area around Bucha, including 1,800 killings, according to Ukraine's acting prosecutor-general Oleksiy Khomenko.
Mr Khomenko said on March 31 that Ukrainian authorities had so far charged 178 individuals and convicted 21. He said Kyiv was continuing to work with the ICC and 25 other countries that were carrying out their own investigations.
"Ukraine will not stop on the path of bringing those responsible to justice," Mr Khomenko said. REUTERS
