PRESS RELEASE : President of Ukraine held a meeting with the International Criminal Court Prosecutor

The press release issued by the President of Ukraine on 16 March 2022.

President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy held a video conference with International Criminal Court Prosecutor Karim Khan who is on a visit to our country.

The President noted the importance of the decision of the International Criminal Court to start an investigation into Russia’s horrific violations of international criminal law during the invasion of Ukraine.

The President also thanked him for the visit to our country at this difficult time.

“It is very important for us during the war, during the aggression of the Russian state against our people, that you reacted so quickly, so professionally,” said Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

He assured that the Ukrainian authorities are ready to provide maximum assistance to the ICC investigation team, which began working in our country in March. The Prosecutor General of Ukraine and relevant law enforcement agencies are involved in this work.

“Everyone understands what is happening. There are already two thousand war prisoners, there are witnesses, there are video testimonies and everything they said without pressure. All those who took people’s lives for nothing on our land must be punished. We will cooperate with you at the highest level,” the President said.

He stressed that no war crime or crime against humanity committed as a result of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine should be left unpunished. Everyone guilty must be brought to international legal and criminal responsibility – from the perpetrators to the military-political leadership of the aggressor country.

Karim Khan, for his part, said that he had already had the opportunity to see photos and videos of the aftermath of the invasion and bombings in Mariupol and other cities – the suffering of people, including children and women.

“The law must now move forward and be used to protect these people,” the International Criminal Court Prosecutor said.

He stated that in order to support Ukraine in this struggle, a historically rapid unification of a large number of countries took place.

“They realized that the rule of law could not just live in universities and courts. It must be put into practice if we want justice,” Karim Khan said, adding that he looked forward to effective cooperation with Ukraine to receive information from all intercepted evidence in order to really get to the bottom of it.

Volodymyr Zelenskyy stressed that he was ready to do everything possible to facilitate the ICC investigation “so that all criminals could be brought to justice.”