The United Nations Human Rights Council overwhelmingly voted in favour on Tuesday of extending the mandate of an investigative body probing possible war crimes committed since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, writes Reuters.

Twenty-eight countries voted in favour of extending the mandate of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine by a year. Seventeen abstained and two voted against the body, which Ukraine says is essential for keeping Russia accountable for its crimes.

“The scope and brutality of Russia’s atrocities in Ukraine are simply beyond any human comprehension”, Ukraine’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva, Yevheniia Filipenko, told the Council ahead of the vote.

“We strongly believe that the continued work of the Commission in further investigating, documenting and reporting human rights violations and international crimes committed against the people in Ukraine could save more innocent lives (and) could contribute to accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims”.