France opens three new probes into 'war crimes' in Ukraine

French anti-terror prosecutors said Tuesday that they were opening three new probes into suspected war crimes committed against French nationals during Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Residential houses destroyed by shelling in the village of Hostomel, Kyiv region, Ukraine on 31 March, 2022. © Reuters/Oleksandr Klymenko

The alleged incidents took place in the southern city of Mariupol, in Hostomel outside Kyiv and in Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, the national anti-terror prosecutors' office said in a statement.

The prosecutors had already opened a war crime probe on 16 March into the death of Franco-Irish Fox News cameraman Pierre Zakrzewski, who was shot near Kyiv while covering the war.

According to French law, French prosecutors can open cases into war crimes committed outside France if the victims are French nationals.

The statement did not give further details on the nature of the cases opened. They have been opened against "X" meaning that no individual is targeted at this stage, though this can change as the case develops.

(with AFP)