'Genocide' definition completely falls under Ukrainian situation, Russia itself plants evidence – PGO

LVIV. March 6 (Interfax-Ukraine) – Every war crime committed by Russia on the territory of Ukraine is investigated through the prism of genocide, Head of the War Crimes Investigation Department of the Prosecutor General’s Office (PGO) Yuriy Bilousov has said.

“We believe that the definition of the term ‘genocide’ falls under the Ukrainian situation absolutely. Their (Russia’s) goal is to destroy 100% of Ukrainians as an ethnic group, a state, a nation,” he said at the United for Justice international conference in Lviv on Saturday, March 4.

He saidthe very fact that the invaders carried out filtration measures in the occupied territories is not evidence of genocide, but may be a sign of this crime.

Bilousov said there are a number of components of genocide: murder, torture, infliction of physical and moral harm, sexual violence, deportation and prevention of childbearing.

“The 70,000 cases of war crimes that we have registered, we are not investigating as genocide. But we consider all these cases through the prism of genocide and see if there are signs that a specific fact of the crime was committed precisely because there was a special intention to commit genocide,” the department’s head said.

“We will all agree that genocide is a very difficult crime, as intent must be proven. We are lucky – the Russians talk too much, it is not difficult to find a speech by Putin in which he says ‘we are committing genocide in Ukraine, please punish us.’ And we are ready to punish them. We are collecting evidence and we understand that it will not take long,” Bilousov said.