A Ukrainian human rights organization has collected evidence of war crimes committed by the Russian Wagner Group. Lawyers say the mercenary commanders must be held to account.
Torture and extrajudicial executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war, targeted attacks on civilians, and occupying critical infrastructure facilities on Ukrainian territory are some of the crimes that Russia's Wagner Group is accused of committing.
The Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR), a Ukrainian NGO, has collected evidence and released a report called "Wagner Group. Beyond Accountability," which includes the testimonies of a dozen Ukrainian soldiers who were held prisoner by the Russian mercenary force.
According to MIHR, there is clear evidence of war crimes and that an investigation was crucial, including at the international level, so that perpetrators could be brought to justice.
Would it be possible to hold Russia's top leaders, including the president, accountable for the crimes committed by members of the Wagner Group? Maksym Tymochko, a human rights lawyer based in the Ukrainian capital Kyiv, said that international law provided the necessary framework for doing this and that Ukraine should use it. He told DW that there was no statute of limitations on war crimes, which are the worst violation of the 1949 Geneva Conventions.
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