A man based in Sweden is being investigated over suspicions he committed war crimes in the conflict in Ukraine according to the head of International Public Prosecution Office in Stockholm, Tora Holst.
“I can confirm that a person based in Sweden is being investigated. It is in regards to suspicions of some kind of war crime that is said to have been committed in Ukraine in 2014,” Holst said on Thursday.
“An investigation can take a long while before the suspicions are put to the suspect in question. If the person is set to be questioned as a suspect and want a lawyer he will naturally be awarded one,” said Holst.
Sweden's security service, Säpo, believes a handful of Swedes have travelled to Ukraine to take part in fighting since the country's armed conflict with Russia began in 2014, Swedish website The Local reported.
Most of the Swedish fighters in the Ukrainian conflict are believed to be siding with the government and several are suspected of sharing far-right values but the common denominator is that they have a history of violence and have an interest in weapons and explosives, according to Säpo's analysts.
The security service believes around 20 Swedes on top of the ones participating in fighting have also travelled to support the government in other ways.