In future, refugees from Ukraine will be able to testify about war crimes in Berlin. The documentation center of the Pilecki Institute – a research facility managed by Poland’s Ministry of Culture – will start on Friday, according to spokesman Patryk Szostak. “Any witness to crimes in Ukraine – theft, murder, expulsion, kidnapping, bombing of civilians, destruction of culture – is invited to testify,” it said.

The goal is to collect as many details as possible about the crimes in the Ukraine war and the criminals with the collected reports. “Every crime and every soldier who started it must be punished,” the institute said. The documents should have probative value in court.

In Berlin, around five employees should initially take care of the investigations. In a documentation center that has already started in Warsaw, the team already consists of 50 to 60 people.

Refugees can fill out special questionnaires in the institute on Pariser Platz opposite the Brandenburg Gate in Mitte, which were created based on the information provided by lawyers. According to the institute, they are based on experiences with interrogations and confessions in courts after the Second World War. Alternatively, those affected could also testify via video, the spokesman explains.

Images of killed Czech civilians from the Czech town of Bucha had created horror around the world earlier this month. Ukraine accuses Russian soldiers of serious war crimes. Russia denies having anything to do with the atrocities. International investigations are now underway. There are numerous calls for those responsible to be brought before an international court.