Those documents can help investigate the crimes committed during the genocide-famine in Ukraine, SBU Director Valentyn Nalyvajchenko said, speaking in a briefing on Wednesday.

“Assistance from the Russians would be extremely important for the objective investigation and bringing charges in court. It is exactly for this reason that the criminal case was opened – to establish the truth and to name the organizer and perpetrators of this crime,” the SBU boss stressed.

He also informed that, as part of this criminal case, special investigative groups have been set up in Ukraine’s 17 oblasts most afflicted by the Holodomor.

The case is being investigated by SBU officials based on the national laws and international conventions in which Ukraine is a signatory.

The Ukrainian Institute of National Memory, Nalyvajschenko says, has identified 882,510 persons who died in the genocide.

SBU investigators are currently examining the documents, questioning witnesses and establishing the secret mass burial places of the man-made Holodomor victims.

“We have conclusive evidence that special NKVD punitive detachments confiscated not only grain from farmers, but also cattle, household essentials, thus putting Ukrainians to death from starvation,” Nalyvajchenko noted.

“In addition, we also have documents that prove mass executions of Ukrainians who opposed the regime or simply mentioned the fact of the famine,” he added.

Nalyvajchenko pointed out that investigators are tasked to collect crucial evidence and testimonies to hand the case to court. We believe we have a strong case for the court of law,” he stressed.

Answering the reporters’ question whether the fact that the perpetrators of the genocide are no longer alive, he reminded that, under the 1968 UN Convention, the statute of limitations does not apply to crimes against humanity.