Ukrainian citizens seeking war reparations face uphill struggle

FILE PHOTO: Vitalii Zhyvotovskyi, 50, stands inside his house that he told Reuters was destroyed by Russian troops as they were retreating from Bucha, in Bucha, Kyiv region, Ukraine April 19, 2022. Picture taken April 19, 2022. REUTERS/Zohra Bensemra/File Photo

BUCHA, Ukraine (Reuters) - Vitalii Zhyvotovskyi, a 51-year old from the Kyiv suburb of Bucha, is trying to rebuild his house after it was heavily damaged during Russia’s occupation of the area earlier this year. The roof was destroyed, the inside gutted by fire and many of the windows blown out.

Zhyvotovskyi says the repairs are more than he can afford, even on his engineer’s salary, so he’s seeking help in the form of war reparations. With the help of a lawyer, he has sent what they say is evidence of war crimes - which Zhyvotovskyi says he was either a victim of or witnessed to both Ukrainian authorities and the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, with the hopes of prosecution and compensation.