What is war crime? Will Putin be prosecuted as 410 civilian bodies discovered in Ukraine?

As the bodies of at least 410 civilians have been found in towns around Kyiv that were recaptured from Russian forces in recent days, a demand to prosecute the Russian President and its top brass for the war crimes beefed up tremendously.

On Monday, April 4, when the Ukrainian authorities found evidence of mass graves and bodies of bound civilians shot at close range in Bucha, US President Joe Biden urged for the prosecution of Putin for committing war crimes in Ukraine.

The Ukraine prosecutor's office said it has registered at least 2,869 cases of war crimes against Russia for breaking laws and customs of the war. Apart from the war crimes, it has registered as many as 1,696 cases of crime against "National Security".

But what are war crimes and is it possible to prosecute the Russian President for the same?

What are war crimes?

According to the United Nations, any 'grave breaches' of the Geneva Conventions - a set of humanitarian laws, will fall under war crime. As per the Geneva Conventions, any of the following acts against persons or property protected under the provisions of the Geneva Convention amount to war crime:

• Wilful killing
• Torture or inhuman treatment, including biological experiments
• Wilfully causing great suffering, or serious injury to body or health
• Extensive destruction and appropriation of property, not justified by military necessity and carried out unlawfully and wantonly
• Compelling a prisoner of war or other protected person to serve in the forces of a hostile Power
• Wilfully depriving a prisoner of war or other protected person of the rights to a fair and regular trial
• Unlawful deportation or transfer or unlawful confinement
• Taking of hostages

What is ICJ and what are the sources of evidence?

The International Court of Justice, or the World Court, is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations that settles disputes between states per international law and provides advisory on international legal issues. Meanwhile, US national security advisor, Jake Sullivan, while addressing a press conference on Monday, said that the US has credible reports of torture, rape and execution of civilians. According to him, the main sources of evidence are:

• Information gathered by the US and its allies
• Evidence from international organisations including the United Nations and NGOs
• Evidence collected by the Ukrainian government and various investigating agencies working on the ground
• Evidence such as photographs and videos documented by media organisations

Is it possible to prosecute Russian President Putin for war crimes?

While speaking to the Associated Press, Philippe Sands, professor at University College, London, said that it is very difficult to prosecute the Russian President and his close allies for war crimes. According to Sands, it is hard to prove that Putin and his inner circle committed war crimes even though more than 400 bodies were found in Bucha.

"There’s a real risk you end up with trials of mid-level people in three years and the main people responsible for this horror – Putin, Lavrov, the minister of defence, the intelligence folks, the military folks and the financiers who are supporting it – will get off the hook," he told the news agency.

The Russia-Ukraine war

Russia initiated a full-fledged war against Ukraine nearly two days after Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a decree recognising the independence of breakaway regions Donetsk and Luhansk. Putin's action came despite the West's repetitive warning over the same.

On February 24, the Russian troops started a military operation against Ukraine. Since then, it has been bombarding several cities in Ukraine, resulting in the killing of thousands of civilians. On Friday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, during a televised address to the nation, warned that Russian withdrawals from the north and centre of the country were just a "military tactic" to build up forces for new powerful attacks in the southeast.

"We know their intentions. We know that they are moving away from those areas where we hit them to focus on other, very important ones where it may be difficult for us," he said. "There will be battles ahead," Zelenskyy added.

He appealed to his Russian counterpart to end the war immediately but added that he would not let the Russian forces take a single piece of Ukrainian land. 

Image: AP