Putin 'must be tried for war crimes' as soon as possible

Russian president Vladimir Putin is a "guilty man" and must be tried for war crimes in Ukraine as soon as possible, according to a British international prosecutor.

Sir Geoffrey Nice, who led the case against Slobodan Milosevic, the former president of Serbia, told Radio 4 that Ukrainians have a clear legal case of atrocities that amount to crimes because civilian targets should never be bombed or otherwise attacked.

He said: "There can be no doubt about the chain of command leading directly to Putin. These are his soldiers.

"At a minimum, he knows from the television what we all do about what's happening... but he's not brought them back to be tried for what are obvious crimes.”

'That's an appalling prospect'

The International Criminal Court (ICC) - of which Ukraine is not a member but it has awarded jurisdiction to the court - has not proclaimed Mr Putin’s responsibility for the crimes to date.

However, Sir Geoffrey speculated that the prosecutor may be reluctant if there is a political advantage such as a financial settlement in not indicting the Russian leader.

"It quite possibly is the case that there will be a settlement agreement drafted by someone or other, not by the Ukrainians, which will have a clause in it saying Putin will not be tried.

"That's an appalling prospect and it will be a complete denial of justice to the people of Ukraine."

Sir Geoffrey stressed that it was important to try Mr Putin, rather than low-ranking soldiers, to "allocate moral responsibility" in a way that can't later be changed or challenged.

A trial should be carried out in Ukraine in the Ukrainian language, he added.

Mr Putin would not need to be present for a trial to take place.

The ICC began documenting alleged war crimes last May after it sent its largest ever team of experts to collect evidence, nearly three months after Russia invaded in February.

While the team is investigating war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide in Ukraine, it cannot look into accusations of aggression because neither Ukraine or Russia have ratified the Rome Statue.

Karim Khan, prosecutor at the ICC, said there were grounds to open an investigation into possible war crimes after a preliminary investigation on offences in Crimea and the Donbas region was published last year.

It is understood that arrest warrants will be issued as soon as enough proof has been gathered by a 42-member team of investigators, forensic experts and support staff.