The Dutch legal authority says a former Russian soldier has applied for asylum in the Netherlands and intends to testify before the International Criminal Court (ICC) on war crimes committed by Russia that he saw firsthand while combating in Ukraine.
He claimed to be 60-year-old Igor Salikov, who had worked as an instructor for the Wagner mercenary organization in Ukraine, and to have been a part of the Russian-backed Donetsk People’s Republic forces in eastern Ukraine since 2014.
Ukraine’s top war crimes prosecutor Yurii Belousov told Reuters that Salikov had already been in touch with Ukrainian prosecutors for more than six months and given testimony.
“He gave important testimony, some of which has already been confirmed, about the invasion of February 24, 2022. He reported some war crimes, which we are investigating, and some have already been confirmed,” Belousov said in a message.
Russia has vigorously denied committing atrocities or targeting civilians in Ukraine.
Salikov told Dutch television program EenVandaag in an interview broadcast on Monday that he was ready to fully cooperate with the ICC and had personally witnessed “cruelties against civilians”.
The ICC’s Prosecutor’s Office on Tuesday confirmed it had received information from Salikov, but added it could give no further information.
“In line with the confidentiality of its activities (…), the Office is unable to confirm or deny whether an individual is being engaged with as a potential witness or in any other capacity,” a spokesman said in a text message.
The court in the Dutch city of The Hague has an ongoing investigation into alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity committed in Ukraine.
In March, the ICC issued warrants for the arrest of Russian President Vladimir Putin and children’s ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova over war crimes charges related to the abduction of Ukrainian children. The Kremlin rejected those allegations.
Human rights group Gulagu.net in a post on Telegram said Salikov was not received by the ICC after his arrival in the Netherlands on Monday, as its prosecutor and judges were not ready for an interrogation yet.
“They did not expect it,” the group said.
