Russia has charged 92 members of the Ukrainian armed forces with crimes against humanity.

According to the head of Russia’s investigative committee, Alexander Bastrykin, over 1,300 criminal investigations had begun in his country.

He also proposed an international tribunal backed by countries including Iran, Syria and Bolivia – traditional allies of Russia.

Bastrykin also revealed that beyond the 92 persons who have already been charged by Russia, some 96 people, including 51 armed forces commanders have been declared wanted for their roles in the ongoing war.

When asked in an interview whether a UN-backed trial could take place, Bastrykin accused the West of openly sponsoring “Ukrainian nationalism” and said such a thing “is extremely doubtful”.

He however proposed that an international tribunal should be set up with countries that have “an independent position on the Ukrainian issue” – in particular Syria, Iran and Bolivia.

Meanwhile, Ukraine is also conducting its own war crimes investigations.

Ukraine said it was examining more than 21,000 war crimes and crimes of agression allegedly committed by Russian forces since the start of the invasion in February.

And in May, the first war crimes trial since the invasion began took place in Ukraine, where the court sentenced a Russian tank commander to life imprisonment for killing a civilian.

The International Criminal Court (ICC), which has described Ukraine as a “crime scene”, has also sent a team of investigators and forensics experts to Ukraine.