SIMFEROPOL, May 6. /TASS/. Russian law enforcement agencies have enough evidence to charge Ukrainian politicians with war crimes, a Russian senator told TASS.
Earlier, Ukrainian President Vladimir Zelensky and a number of other Ukrainian politicians and the military were put on the Russian interior ministry’s database of wanted people. The database however doesn’t mention the article under which the criminal case was opened.
"Ukraine’s war crimes have been recorded since the beginning of shelling attacks on Donbass, and there are scores of instances since the beginning of the special military operation. They include data about Russian soldiers who were tortured and abused in Ukrainian captivity, attacks on the Zaporozhye Nuclear Power Plant, shelling attacks on peaceful Russian cities. We have more than enough evidence," said Sergey Tsekov, who represents Crimea in Russia’s Federation Council, or upper house of parliament, and chairs the Council’s international committee.
He stressed that the Russian authorities will identify and hold accountable all war criminals responsible for the deaths of civilians and war crimes against Russians.
"War crimes have no statute of limitations. They [Zelensky and other Ukrainian politicians] must bear this in mind, as they must realize that Russia will not be defeated in the special military operation. The time will come when they are found, convicted and punished under Russian law, no matter where they try to hide. They should always be afraid," Tsekov said, adding that it is possible that Zelensky and other Ukrainian politicians would be put on the international wanted list.
By putting Zelensky on the wanted list, Russia is sending a message that it won't talk with war criminals, Mikhail Sherement, a member of the Russian State Duma (lower house of parliament) from Crimea, told TASS.
"I think that this move can be seen as a signal from Russia to the West that Moscow is not going to hold any talks with the war criminal and illegitimate Ukrainian president who have usurped power," he said, adding that a criminal case against Zelensky is a kind of a black mark on the Ukrainian President.
"From now on, he won’t be able to hide anywhere. Now he is the same as other Ukrainian Nazis," he stressed.
Under Ukraine’s constitution, a presidential election was to be held in March but Zelensky demanded that the topic of the election be dropped until hostilities are over. Ukraine’s Supreme Court opened a case on a motion demanding that the Verkhovna Rada (parliament) call a presidential election since Zelensky’s office term expires on May 20.