Ukraine has handed over Russian soldier to Lithuania for first time to stand trial for war crimes, - Kravchenko. VIDEO
For the first time since the start of the full-scale war, Ukraine has handed over a Russian serviceman to a foreign state, Lithuania, for actual criminal prosecution for war crimes. This is a historic precedent and an important step for the international justice system.
According to Censor.NET, this was announced by Ukraine's Prosecutor General Ruslan Kravchenko.
Lithuania has taken the Russian into custody
"On 30 October, the Vilnius District Court, at the request of the prosecutor of the Lithuanian Prosecutor General's Office, took the suspect into custody for three months," the statement said.
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This concerns a senior sailor of the military police of the Russian Armed Forces, who was captured by the Ukrainian military in the Zaporizhzhia direction near Robotyne. According to Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, he was involved in the illegal detention of people, torture and inhuman treatment of civilians and prisoners of war.
As established by the investigation, together with other Russian military personnel, he beat prisoners, tortured them with electric shocks, strangled them, kept people in metal safes and used other forms of torture. One of the victims of this serviceman was a Lithuanian citizen.
In Lithuania, the Russian soldier has been charged under the Criminal Code with war crimes, torture, unlawful deprivation of liberty, and violation of the Geneva Conventions. He faces life imprisonment for these crimes.
A historic precedent and a signal to other criminals
The transfer of the serviceman was made possible thanks to the work of the Joint Investigation Team "Case of Ukraine" and close cooperation with Lithuanian partners.
"This is not just a legal action. It is a clear signal to every war criminal: you will not be able to hide from justice in any country in the free world. Justice will be served," Kravchenko emphasised.
