International Criminal Court prosecutor visits Ukraine's Bucha

By Zehra Nur Duz

ANKARA (AA) - The International Criminal Court’s (ICC) chief prosecutor on Wednesday visited the Ukrainian city of Bucha, near the capital Kyiv.

During his visit to Ukraine, Karim Khan also met with Ukraine’s Prosecutor General Iryna Venediktova in the capital Kyiv, where he lauded the "strong cooperation of Ukrainian authorities for independent ICC investigations,” the ICC said on Twitter.

Khan and Venediktova agreed at the meeting that it is critical to deepen engagement and strengthen partnerships in order to hold accountable those responsible for international crimes committed in Ukraine.

During his visit to Bucha, Khan told reporters: “Ukraine is a crime scene. We’re here because we have reasonable grounds to believe that crimes within the jurisdiction of the ICC are being committed. We have to pierce the fog of war to get to the truth.”

Khan made his first official visit to Ukraine on March 16 and spoke with Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy via videoconference.

At least 1,892 civilians have been killed and 2,558 injured in Ukraine since Russia launched a war on its western neighbor on Feb. 24, according to UN estimates, with the true figure believed to be far higher.

More than 4.24 million Ukrainians have fled to other countries, with millions more internally displaced, according to the UN refugee agency.