by Stephanie van den Berg
THE HAGUE (Reuters) – A former Russian soldier has sought asylum in the Netherlands and wants to testify before the International Criminal Court (ICC) about Russian war crimes he allegedly witnessed in Ukraine, said Tuesday told Reuters a Dutch legal source.
The man, who identified himself to Dutch media as Igor Salikov, 60, said he had been a member of the Russian-backed forces of the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in eastern Ukraine since 2014, and having worked as an instructor for the Wagner mercenary group in Ukraine.
Reuters could not independently verify his position within pro-Russian separatist forces or the Wagner Group.
Ukraine’s top war crimes prosecutor, Yuriy Belousov, told Reuters that Igor Salikov had already been in contact with Ukrainian prosecutors for more than six months and had submitted his testimony.
“He gave important testimony, some of which has already been confirmed, about the invasion of February 24, 2022. He reported on certain war crimes, which we are investigating and some of which have already been confirmed,” said Yourii Belousov to Reuters by text message.
Russia has strongly denied committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine.
In an interview broadcast on Monday, Igor Salikov told Dutch television channel EenVandaag that he was ready to fully cooperate with the ICC and that he had personally witnessed “cruelties against civilians.”
The ICC prosecutor’s office confirmed on Tuesday that it had received information from Igor Salikov, but could not provide further details.
“Consistent with the confidentiality of its activities … the office is unable to confirm or deny whether an individual is contacted as a potential witness or in any other capacity,” a spokesperson said. in a message.
The court, located in the Dutch city of The Hague, is investigating war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Ukraine.
In March, the court issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova on war crimes charges related to the kidnapping of Ukrainian children . The Kremlin has refuted these allegations.
According to the human rights group Gulagu.net, which posted a message on Telegram, Igor Salikov was not received by the ICC after his arrival in the Netherlands on Monday because the prosecutor and judges did not Were not yet ready to question him.
“They didn’t expect it,” the group said.
(Reporting Stephanie van den Berg, Charlotte Van Campenhout and Anthony Deutsch in Amsterdam and Filipp Lebedev in Tblisi; French version Dagmarah Mackos, editing by Kate Entringer)
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