The resolution was passed unanimously by the Polish lower house, the Sejm, on Wednesday, the state PAP news agency reported.
The Polish MPs declared: “Poland’s Sejm firmly condemns acts of long-term violence, war crimes, crimes against humanity, acts of genocide, systemic human rights violations and other criminal violations of international law, perpetrated on the territory of sovereign Ukraine by the armed forces of the Russian Federation and their allies, on the orders of military commanders under direct authority of President Vladimir Putin."
They called on like-minded countries to support the launch of “proceedings before the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court,” and “to act through international organisations” to hold Putin and other Russian leaders to account, the PAP news agency reported.
'Putin is a war criminal'
The resolution said that “publicly available evidence of these crimes” was sufficient for “the Polish Sejm and the international community to declare Vladimir Putin a war criminal.”
Polish MPs also appealed to lawmakers in democratic countries around the world and to the European Parliament to impose “the most far-reaching sanctions” on Russian leaders.
Meanwhile, the Sejm declared its “unwavering solidarity with the free Ukrainian nation and the democratic state of Ukraine."
Last week, Poland’s Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro told reporters that the country’s prosecutors had collected more than 300 witness statements as part of an ongoing investigation into war crimes committed by the Russian invaders of Ukraine.
Ziobro's announcement came as the Hague-based International Court of Justice ordered the Kremlin to immediately halt its military operations in Ukraine, saying it was "profoundly concerned" by Moscow's use of force, the Reuters news agency reported.
Wednesday was day 28 of the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
Poland on Wednesday reported it had welcomed nearly 2.18 million refugees fleeing Russia's attack on Ukraine.
(pm/gs)
Source: IAR, PAP, Reuters