Ukraine has documented 159 thousand war crimes since the beginning of Russia's invasion.

Ukraine has identified 159 thousand war crimes that have occurred since the start of the full-scale war. This was reported by the head of the Department for Combating Crimes of the Prosecutor General's Office, Yuriy Belyousov, at a press conference on the topic 'Justice for War Crimes - Vision, Challenges, Coverage.'

Among the 850 suspected of these crimes are Russian military personnel who have been granted suspect status. 608-610 cases are already being reviewed by the courts, and 158 individuals have been convicted. Many cases have been heard in the absence of the suspect. Only a few convicted individuals have served their sentences in Ukraine.

Belyousov noted that among the convicted are 18 war criminals who are in Ukrainian captivity, while the other 140 sentences were handed down in absentia. The prosecutor acknowledges that it is difficult to determine how many Russian soldiers may remain in Ukrainian captivity to serve their sentences.

The Office of the Prosecutor General is deciding whom among the captives is advisable to exchange. When lists of individuals proposed for exchange are received, prosecutors review them. If there is an investigation into a serious war crime, such as torture or violence, the individual is not exchanged.

Belyousov emphasizes that for Ukraine, the priority is always the release of Ukrainian captives who are held in inhumane conditions. He also stresses that if everyone is exchanged, it will give the Russians the opportunity to commit crimes in Ukraine again.