Ukraine probing 3,440 Russian war crimes committed against children - top prosecutor

Ukraine’s law enforcers are investigating a total of 3,440 war crimes Russian invasion forces committed against Ukrainian children.

That’s according to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin, who spoke at the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children on Thursday, Ukrinform reports, referring to the PGO press service.

"Currently, 3,440 war crimes against children are being investigated in Ukraine. We implement standards of child-friendly justice designed to protect their rights and interests. At the same time, we continue to cooperate closely with the International Criminal Court. Our goal is to ensure the responsibility of criminals at all levels – national and international," Kostin emphasized.

Read also: Ukraine successfully returns 387 of nearly 20,000 children abducted by Russia

He also noted that the participation of more than 60 countries in the Coalition is another powerful signal that the world has rallied around putting an end to impunity for Russian atrocities and helping return abducted and deported Ukrainian children to their homeland.

At the panel discussion, Andriy Kostin spoke about efforts to ensure accountability for these crimes. The top prosecutor lso spoke about the development of bilateral and multilateral international legal cooperation and readiness to transfer criminal cases to other states based on universal jurisdiction.

Read also: Zelensky calls for urgent action at meeting of International Coalition for Return of Ukrainian Children

As Ukrinform reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelensky of Ukraine took part in the inaugural meeting of the International Coalition for the Return of Ukrainian Children illegally deported and forcibly relocated to the Russian Federation from the temporarily occupied territories.