Germany identifies Russians suspected of shelling Hostomel

This is stated by Federal Minister of Justice Marco Buschmann, Spiegel reports.

"If we catch the perpetrators, we will press charges. And if Ukraine or another country with which we are cooperating catches these people, we will provide evidence so that we can successfully bring charges," Buschmann said.

According to him, the persons suspected of shelling Hostomel, Kyiv region, and the officers responsible have already been identified.

Prior to this particular investigation, the Federal Prosecutor's Office initiated a so-called structural investigation into alleged war crimes during Russia's aggression against Ukraine in March 2022. Its goal is to first obtain evidence. For example, by questioning witnesses seeking asylum in Germany. It is noted that a similar approach was used in relation to war crimes in Syria, after which several sentences have already been passed.

The German authorities contacted the witnesses in Ukrainian, English and Russian to persuade them to talk about their experiences with the police.

• In September, the German Federal Prosecutor's Office began investigating Russian crimes in Hostomel, namely the shooting of civilians, where a German citizen was injured.