Prosecutor General of Ukraine, Andriy Kostin has met with Executive Director of Europol, Catherine De Bolle in The Hague.
Kostin and De Bolle discussed the strengthening of partnership in investigating Russian crimes against Ukraine.
Kostin informed De Bolle about one of the bloodiest attacks on Ukrainian cities, which was carried out by Russia on July 8, 2024.
Numerous civilian objects were damaged, including the largest children’s hospital in Ukraine. Massive shelling claimed the lives of 46 civilians, including five children.
Kostin noted that Europol plays an important role in building a network of comprehensive responsibility for international crimes, particularly through the work of the Analytical Project on Core International Crimes (AP CIC), an OSINT task force to support investigations into war crimes committed in Ukraine.
He also noted that the participation of Europol in the Joint Investigation Team on core international crimes has significantly contributed to the team’s work.
“We equally appreciate Europol’s support for the Freeze and Seize Task Force, as well as Operation OSCAR, which targets criminal assets related to Russia’s aggression,” the Prosecutor General said.
Additionally, Kostin expressed hope for the further expansion of our constant cooperation in restoring justice for Ukraine and Ukrainians.”
Kostin Calls On ICC To Prosecute Russia Over Strike On Okhmatdyt Hospital
Earlier, Ukraine’s top prosecutor, Andriy Kostin called on the International Criminal Court (ICC) to prosecute Russia over a missile strike on a children’s hospital in Kyiv on Monday, July 8, 2024.
The strike was one of a number across Ukraine that killed 38 people, including four children, and injured hundreds.
He said that the strike was worth “lifting” to the ICC in part because Kyiv seeks to reveal the systematic nature of Russia’s attack on civilians.
“For the sake of international justice, cases like the intentional attack on the biggest child hospital in Kyiv [are] worth lifting to the ICC,” Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin stated.
He added that prosecuting the case could help demonstrate a pattern of crimes against humanity carried out by Russian forces.
Kostin said the decision to prosecute lies with the ICC’s prosecutor alone, adding that Ukraine was ready to share any physical evidence or details of its investigation with the court.
He said that while Ukrainian authorities were looking into all of Monday’s attacks, they can only bring charges of war crimes and not the more serious offence of crimes against humanity because they are not part of Ukraine’s criminal code.
Kostin said that a key element of prosecutions for crimes against humanity involves demonstrating systematic attacks on civilians.
“It’s important to show that Russia itself, at the moment, is a criminal state,” he added.
Russia has denied attacking the hospital and blamed Ukrainian anti-missile fire.
However, A U.N. rights mission has said there is a “high likelihood” the hospital took a direct hit from a Russian missile.
Ukraine’s security service also said that it had unequivocal evidence the medical facility was hit by a Russian Kh-101 cruise missile.
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