Russia has committed 137,000 war crimes in Ukraine, Zelensky says.

Russia has committed 137,000 war crimes in Ukraine, President Volodymyr Zelensky said at the United for Justice conference in Kyiv on Sept.

11. War crimes include acts such as deliberate attacks on civilians, attacks on cultural sites or medical institutions, torture, and deportations. "As of today, there are at least 137,000 reasons for us to continue this work, and for us to see it through," Zelensky said, referring to "the number of war crimes committed by Russia."

"Crimes against peace and humanity, against our state, against our people, against Ukraine and Ukrainians. And this means that there should be no fewer sentences." Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the International Criminal Court (ICC) has announced several arrest warrants for crimes committed by Russia's leadership against Ukraine.

The charges against Shoigu and Gerasimov followed similar arrest warrants issued against two lower-ranking Russian commanders deemed allegedly responsible for carrying out strikes on Ukraine's electrical infrastructure during the same time period. The court also issued arrest warrants in March 2023 for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Presidential Commissioner for Children's Rights Maria Lvova-Belova for the forcible transfer of children from Russian-occupied parts of Ukraine. The Prosecutor General's Office said in March that Ukraine has collected pretrial information on over 128,000 victims of war crimes.

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