Ukrainian director calls for trials of Soviet-era ‘war crimes’

‘At the end of this war, there must be a trial against all war crimes which Russian army and Russian politicians did in Ukraine,’ said Loznitza. Photograph: Guglielmo Mangiapane/Reuters

The Russian state should be tried for historical crimes committed by the Soviet Union, the Ukrainian director Sergei Loznitsa has said before the premiere of his new documentary, The Kiev Trial, at Venice.

Speaking at a press conference, Loznitza – who was expelled from the Ukrainian film academy for expressing his support for Russian film-makers – said there needed to be contrition for the wrongs of the past.