The Dutch Ministry of Defense said on August 29, 2022, that criminal investigators from the Netherlands would make three more visits to Ukraine to assist the International Criminal Court’s investigation into war crimes during Russia’s full-scale invasion.
Source: The Dutch Ministry of Defense
A group of investigators will visit Ukraine under the flag of the International Criminal Court three more times during this and the next years.
“At the request of Ukraine, the FO team already investigated war crimes in the country in May. It has now been decided that a team will once again conduct research in the country this autumn. The third and 4th time will follow in the spring and autumn of 2023.”
The group consists of representatives of the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee and specialists from other defense agencies. Representatives of other countries can also join it, this issue is still being resolved.
“Forensic and investigative work is not without risks. The deployment is, however, limited to areas under the control of the Ukrainian armed forces. Also, direct confrontations with Russian soldiers are not expected. Nevertheless, the risks remain considerable, because Russian attacks on, for example, Ukrainian military installations still occur in these areas. If the security situation changes and deployment is no longer justified, the team can be taken back.”
The Netherlands does not want to allow violations of the international legal order to go unpunished. The FO team can make an important contribution to this.
See also: Netherlands will allocate new aid package to Ukraine worth over €80 million
