The European Union is ready to send teams of investigators to Ukraine to help collect evidence on war crimes of which Russian forces are accused in the kyiv region, the President of the European Commission announced on Monday 4 April.
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“The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must not go unpunished.
The EU has set up a joint investigation team with Ukraine to collect evidence and investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity,” Ursula von der Leyen said after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.
“The EU is ready to reinforce this effort by sending investigative teams on the ground to support Ukrainian prosecution services.
Eurojust (the EU judicial cooperation agency) and Europol (the European criminal police agency) are ready to help,” she said in a statement.
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“Talks are ongoing between Eurojust and the International Criminal Court to join forces and for the Court to join the joint investigation team,” she added.
“Such a coordinated approach by the Ukrainian authorities, the EU, its member states and agencies and the International Criminal Court will allow for the collection, analysis and processing of evidence in the most comprehensive and efficient way possible” , said Ursula von der Leyen.
The ICC has been investigating allegations of war crimes in Ukraine since March 3.
The ICC, which sits in The Hague, was created in 2002 to try individuals prosecuted in particular for war crimes, crimes against humanity or acts of genocide.