The Lithuanian Prosecutor General’s Office announced on Thursday that it has opened a pre-trial investigation into alleged crimes against humanity and war crimes in Ukraine which was invaded by Russia last Thursday.
The investigation was opened under the provisions of Articles 100, 110, and 111 of the Criminal Code, establishing liability for the treatment of persons prohibited under international law, aggression, and prohibited military attack, respectively.
The probe was launched after the justice ministry earlier this week requested the Prosecutor General’s Office to open a pre-trial investigation against Russian President Vladimir Putin and Belarusian authoritarian leader Alexander Lukashenko over the war in Ukraine.
The Prosecutor General’s Office said in a press release that the pre-trial investigation has been launched given the military aggression against Ukraine, attacks against civilians and medics, destruction of residential homes, hospitals, educational establishments, and other civilian structures, as well as deaths of both adults and children.
The office also took into consideration the fact that military attacks took place, inter alia, in the territories hosting the facilities posing serious risks to the environment and humans, including nuclear power plants, the repositories of nuclear fuel, and other toxic chemical substances.
The threat of a possible use of weapons of mass destruction was also taken into account.
According to the prosecutors, the purpose of the investigation was to collect and document evidence from people fleeing war in Ukraine in order to bring the culprits to justice.
“We understand that it is the Prosecutor’s Office of Ukraine that has the utmost right to prosecute individuals for the military aggression carried out in their country. But we also understand that they need help for such criminal prosecution,” the Prosecutor General’s Office said in the press release.
The pre-trial investigation will be conducted by an investigation team, consisting of prosecutors and police officers.
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