The Attorney General KC visited Kyiv, Bucha and
Irpin to drive forward accountability for Ukraine.
Speaking alongside President Zelenskyy, Ukrainian Prosecutor
General Andriy Kostin and ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan, the Attorney
General opened the United for Justice Conference.
The Attorney General said:
The UK supports Ukraine's fight for freedom and its fight for
justice. Russia must be accountable both for specific atrocities
and its act of aggression. From the battlefield to the courtroom,
the UK stands with Ukraine.
The conference was held in an underground car park in central
Kyiv for safety, a daily reminder of the toll of war.
At Bucha's cathedral, the Attorney General heard of the brutal
murders and executions of ordinary people as they cycled to work,
walked to the shop or sought to flee Russia's occupation in March
2022.
Bucha was a place of terror a year and a half ago. Though homes
have been rapidly reconstructed, wounds remain. Father Andriy,
the Archpriest of the Cathedral, told from his experience of the
importance of international rule of law and accountability, to
provide justice for the people of Bucha and prevent further
atrocities.
The Attorney General also stopped at the Romanivika Bridge,
Irpin, blown up in 2022 to stop the Russian advance to Kyiv, but
now a commuter route from the city to its suburbs.
There he heard about the part-UK funded Mobile Justice Units
which support victims, including of conflict related sexual
violence, across Ukraine.
The Attorney General also held detailed discussions with
Prosecutor General Kostin on the work of his Office to prosecute
the 135,000 incidents of alleged war crimes in real-time, as well
as training and other support the UK is providing to help
prosecutors.
