Kyiv invites PH law experts to help document crimes vs. Ukraine

Ukraine, Mykhailiuk said, is hoping to liberate its territories by June to August 2023, describing it as an “optimistic scenario” given that Ukraine’s army is “reinforced” against Russia’s troops in the country. (File photo: Max Kukurudziak/Unsplash)

MANILA – Filipino international law experts and forensic specialists are welcome to join teams documenting the crimes committed against Ukraine amid the ongoing war there, the Ukraine Embassy in Malaysia said Wednesday.

Embassy Chargé d’affaires Denys Mykhailiuk made the statement as he reported the thousands of civilian deaths and continuous destruction of properties in Ukraine as the world marks one year since Russia’s aggression began on Feb. 24, 2022.

“There is no legal mechanism yet to force Russia into the international trial,” Mykhailiuk told reporters during a Kamuning Bakery forum.

“We hope that many nations will join our efforts by sending their forensic specialists as well as by sending their international law specialists and we think that the Republic of the Philippines has wonderful expertise here,” he added.

Interested forensic experts, he said, would be working on the liberated territories in Ukraine to identify and document the Ukrainians killed and buried in mass graves.

“Here we will need the help from the forensic specialists, so the Philippines they are very welcome to come, we will facilitate as an embassy their coming,” Mykhailiuk said.

“For the international law specialists it will be on the other level… (They will join a) team of international law specialists gathered together to document the crimes, not of the physical persons but the crimes of the state,” he added.

The diplomat said the invitation was extended at the onset of the war but was not mentioned during the recent phone call between Ukrainian Volodymyr Zelenskyy and President Ferdinand R. Marcos Jr. this year.

‘Good impact’

In the same briefing, he said the phone conversation between the two leaders had a “good impact” on the two states’ bilateral relations in both political and economic spheres.

“These talks among the top leaders of our countries just set the frame for the bilateral relations for the next year or next period,” he said.

In addition, he hoped the Philippines could support Ukraine-submitted resolutions before the United Nations, including a draft resolution calling for “just and lasting peace” in the country.

“We hope for the support of (the Philippines) especially after the phone call between our presidents that took place earlier this month,” the envoy said.

“[T]his proposal is how to stop the war in Ukraine, how to restore the rule of law and how to make ceasefire stable, not just the temporary ceasefire or frozen conflict which will allow the aggressor to reinforcements of its troops for further attacks,” he added.

The draft will be adopted on Feb. 23 during the resumed 11th Emergency Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Ukraine, Mykhailiuk said, is hoping to liberate its territories by June to August 2023, describing it as an “optimistic scenario” given that Ukraine’s army is “reinforced” against Russia’s troops in the country.

“(They) have lots of tanks and 400 aircraft but our army is reinforced as well. We have summoned more than a million people to the army,” he said.

“I’m not sure the war will end but we hope at this time we will be able to liberate our territories and these will open the gates for the negotiations,” he added.