EU investigators to help war crimes probe, says von der Leyen

The EU will send investigators to Ukraine to support the Ukrainian Prosecution Services probing the “heinous crimes” uncovered in Bucha and other areas from which Russian troops have recently left.

“The perpetrators of these heinous crimes must not go unpunished,” Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, said today after a call with Ukraine’s president Volodymyr Zelensky.

“The EU has set up a Joint Investigation Team with Ukraine to collect evidence and investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity,” von der Leyen said in a statement.

Von der Leyen added that the EU was ready to reinforce the effort by sending investigation teams on the ground to support the Ukrainian Prosecution Services. Eurojust and Europol were ready to assist, she said.

“Such a co-ordinated approach from the Ukrainian authorities, the EU, its member states and agencies, and the International Criminal Court, will allow for the evidence to be collected, analysed and processed in the most complete and effective way possible,” von der Leyen added.

The European Commission will provide all the necessary technical and financial support to all EU-led investigations, the statement said.

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