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Ten months into Russia’s latest invasion of Ukraine, overwhelming evidence shows the Kremlin’s troops have waged total war, with disregard for international laws governing the treatment of civilians and conduct on the battlefield.
Ukraine is investigating more than 58,000 potential Russian war crimes killings, kidnappings, indiscriminate bombings and sexual assaults.
As Karim Khan, chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court in The Hague, told the AP, Ukraine is a crime scene.
That extensive documentation has run smack into a hard reality, however. While authorities have amassed a staggering amount of evidence the conflict is among the most documented in human history they are unlikely to arrest most of those who pulled the trigger or gave the beatings anytime soon, let alone the commanders who gave the orders and political leaders who sanctioned the attacks.
The reasons are manifold, experts say. Ukrainian authorities face serious challenges in gathering air-tight evidence in a war zone. And the vast majority of alleged war criminals have evaded capture and are safely behind Russian lines.
Even in successful prosecutions, the limits of justice so far are glaring. Take the case of Vadim Shishimarin, a baby-faced 21-year-old tank commander who was the first Russian tried on war crimes charges. He surrendered in March and pleaded guilty in a Kyiv courtroom in May to shooting a 62-year-old Ukrainian civilian in the head.
The desire for some combination of justice and vengeance was palpable in that courtroom. Do you consider yourself a murderer? a woman shouted at the Russian as he stood bent forward with his head resting against the glass of the cage he was locked in.
What about the man in the coffin? came another, sharper voice. A third demanded the defence lawyer explain how he could fight for the Russian’s freedom.
The young soldier was first sentenced to life in prison, which was reduced to 15 years on appeal.
