Lithuanian law-enforcement officials have interviewed 423 people as witnesses and recognised 125 people as victims as part of their investigation into Russian war crimes, the Prosecutor General’s Office has said.
The office opened the pre-trial investigation into aggression, war crimes, and crimes against humanity in Ukraine almost two years ago, on March 1, 2022.
The investigation is based on the Criminal Code’s articles on the treatment of human beings prohibited by international law, aggression, and prohibited military attacks in Ukraine.
These crimes are punishable by prison sentences ranging from five to 20 years, and up to life imprisonment.
As part of the probe, law enforcement officials are investigating the death of Mantas Kvedaravičius, a prominent Lithuanian filmmaker and cultural anthropologist who was killed while making a documentary film in the Ukrainian city of Mariupol in the spring of 2022.
Lithuanian prosecutors, along with other officials and experts, travelled to Ukraine, where they worked together with Ukrainian prosecutors and investigators in conducting procedural actions, recording victims and witnesses’ statements and examining the scenes of events.
Lithuanian President Gitanas Nausėda and Prosecutor General Nida Grunskienė met on Monday to discuss Lithuanian prosecutors’ cooperation with the law enforcement authorities of Ukraine and other countries in investigating Russian war crimes.
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