For more than a year, Russian jets have been pounding Ukrainian cities, destroying hospitals and apartment blocks, while Moscow’s troops on the ground have been accused of executing civilians. Flooded with evidence of Russian war crimes, Ukrainian prosecutors moved swiftly.
Kyiv has compiled hundreds of dossiers, naming more than 600 Russians – many of them high-ranking political and military officials – as suspects. The suspects range from senior officials including the defence minister, Sergei Shoigu, to a lesser-known colonel believed to be responsible for some of the most brutal aerial attacks on Ukraine.
As the international criminal court in The Hague opens two war crimes cases tied to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the Guardian profiles some of the commanders and generals accused by Ukraine, based on interviews with former soldiers, defence officials and open-source data.
