Several countries and international organizations, including the United Nations, have pledged to do their utmost to bring to justice those responsible for war crimes committed during Russia’s aggression in Ukraine.

According to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michel Bachelet, the victims and their relatives should be compensated for their tragedy.

According to her, so far the UN has already registered and confirmed by name 5,939 civilian casualties, including 2,787 dead and 3,152 wounded.

“The real numbers are much higher, and my office is working to establish them,” Bachelet said, adding that most of these people had fallen victim to weapons of mass destruction in densely populated areas, including artillery shelling, missiles or bombings.

In turn, the Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova reported via video link that she had initiated more than 8,000 cases of violation of the rules of hostilities.

And the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Karim Khan noted that 43 countries – a record number – have filed violations of the laws of war in Ukraine.

“The law is the same for all parties to the conflict, for Ukraine and for Russia, and those who act on behalf of the state or independently have certain responsibilities,” he said, promising an independent investigation into each case.

Russia, meanwhile, continues to accuse Ukraine of committing crimes and calls the ISS a biased and politicized organization.

The Canadian Parliament has condemned Russia for its actions in Ukraine, which have been described as genocide.

Lawmakers have concluded that there is clear and compelling evidence of systematic and large-scale war crimes against humanity committed by Russian troops.

On April 21, the parliaments of Estonia and Latvia recognized Russia’s war in Ukraine as genocide.

The presidents of Poland and the United States have also condemned the killing of civilians by the Russian military as genocide, but a number of other world leaders, including the French president, have refrained from making such a statement.

Under international law, genocide is the intentional intent to partially or completely destroy any national, ethnic, racial or religious group.

According to Beth van Shaak, the US Special Representative for International Justice, the United States has verified information that the Russian military shot dead Ukrainians who were trying to surrender near Donetsk.

“If these facts are confirmed, it will be a fundamental violation of the principles of warfare,” van Schaak said.

She also noted that the United States has clear reports of people being shot with their hands tied, of bodies being tortured, and of horrific sexual abuse of women and girls.

“All these photos and reports show that these atrocities were not the result of the actions of individuals or units,” said van Schaak.

According to her, this is more evidence of systematic crimes committed by the Russian military.

Those who commit and encourage such crimes must be held accountable by law, the US spokeswoman warned.

“I want to convey to the Russian military and political leadership a simple idea – the whole world is watching you, and we will make you answer,” she concluded.

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