Metinvest: Theft of metal in Russia is a war crime

Russia commits a war crime by exporting Ukrainian metal from occupied Mariupol. It was punished by an international court, said Svetlana Romanova, director of legal support for Metinvest Group, in Freedom.

He recalled that Azovstal, MMKI and Zaporizhstal have already filed several applications for criminal offenses, cases have already been registered. The companies themselves are collecting evidence and preparing to track the routes of this metal.

“We are sure to know that the first shipment was made on PM3, a sanctioned vessel of the Rostov company, which previously operated flights from the Crimea. Then there were two more flights. We are also working to get a base. evidence in the form of satellite images, we monitor the movement of commercial ships in special programs in the Sea of ​​Azov, we work with lawyers, including abroad.We notify all our clients who may “We are also trying to work with international Associations to stop the distribution and sale of this steel to potential buyers in Asia and Africa and the EU,” he said. by Romanova.

He added that metal theft is classified as a war crime under the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. “Any invasion of property, any theft, any vandalism within the framework of military operations, which is not due to military necessity, is a war crime,” the company representative said.

“Today is not just a holy theft – there is a war crime with criminal penalties at the level of international law. Accordingly, it is understood by the whole world and by our clients,” Romanova added.

Metinvest hopes that Turkey, as a country that controls exits from the Black Sea, will help Ukraine in countering the commission of these crimes.

Earlier, Mariupol plants were urged not to buy metal products stolen by Russian occupiers.