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The International Criminal Court鈥檚 chief prosecutor called Thursday for an 鈥渙verarching strategy鈥� to bring perpetrators of war crimes in Ukraine to justice, and representatives from dozens of countries pledged to cooperate in their investigations.

Since Russian President Vladimir Putin ordered the invasion of Ukraine on Feb. 24, his military forces have been accused of abuses ranging from killings in the Kyiv suburb of Bucha to deadly attacks on civilian facilities, including the March 16 bombing of a theater in Mariupol that an Associated Press investigation established likely killed close to 600 people.

鈥淭he simple truth is that, as we speak, children, women and men, the young and the old, are living in terror,鈥� ICC Prosecutor Karim Khan said as he opened the Ukraine Accountability Conference in The Hague.

Mr. Khan said Thursday鈥檚 ministerial meeting addressed 鈥渁 need of coordination, of coherence鈥� and 鈥渢he need of an overarching strategy鈥� as different nations and courts work to investigate and prosecute crimes.

The AP and Frontline, which are tracking incidents in Ukraine, have so far tallied 338 potential war crimes.

As the meeting got underway in The Hague, Russian missiles struck the central Ukrainian city of Vinnytsia in what Ukraine鈥檚 president called 鈥渁n open act of terrorism鈥� on the country鈥檚 civilian population.

Speaking to reporters after the conference, Ukraine鈥檚 prosecutor general, Iryna Venediktova, held up a photograph that appeared to show a child鈥檚 body as she discussed Thursday鈥檚 airstrike.

鈥淭oday, 20 people killed by Russian missiles, including three children, 52 injured by Russian missiles, including children. And this information we have every day from morning to night, night to morning,鈥� she said.

U.S. State Department human rights envoy Uzra Zeya accused Russian forces of atrocities as she delivered a message to the conference from Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

鈥淲ith each day, the war crimes mount. Rape, torture, extrajudicial executions, disappearances, forced deportations. Attacks on schools, hospitals, playgrounds, apartment buildings, grain silos, water and gas facilities,鈥� Ms. Zeya said. 鈥淭hese are not the acts of rogue units 鈥� they fit a clear pattern across every part of Ukraine touched by Russia鈥檚 forces.鈥�

About 40 nations from the European Union and around the world sent representatives to The Hague for the conference hosted by Mr. Khan, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs Wopke Hoekstra, and the European Union鈥檚 justice commissioner, Didier Reynders.

Investigations of military crimes committed during the nearly 5-month war in Ukraine are underway around Europe; more than 23,000 war crimes cases have been registered in Ukraine alone, Ms. Venediktova said. The ICC and 14 EU member nations also have launched investigations.

鈥淲ords are cheap. Too much has been promised for too long. And I think today, from many vantage points, represents a realization that we, as lawyers and investigators, need to take the law off the page and put it into action,鈥� ICC prosecutor Mr. Khan said as the meeting wrapped up.

Delegates agreed to set up a dialogue group to link and streamline the various investigations.

鈥淲e need to translate our shared and strong conviction for justice into a unified answer against impunity and use the results of this conference as a blueprint to respond to cruelties and crimes committed in Ukraine and in the rest of the world,鈥� Mr. Hoekstra said.

In a video message to the meeting, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba called for the creation of an international tribunal to prosecute Russian leaders for the crime of aggression 鈥� when one state launches an unjustified attack on another.

The ICC doesn鈥檛 have jurisdiction to prosecute the crime of aggression in Ukraine because neither Russia nor Ukraine is among the court鈥檚 123 member states.

Kyiv has, however, accepted the court鈥檚 jurisdiction and that cleared the way for Khan to open an investigation in Ukraine in early March after dozens of the global court鈥檚 member nations asked him to intervene. He has visited Ukraine to see firsthand the horrors inflicted on the country and sent the court鈥檚 largest-ever team of investigators to gather evidence.

So far, the court hasn鈥檛 announced any arrest warrants for suspects in the probe that could reach to the very top of Russia鈥檚 military chain of command, as well as to the Kremlin.

The ICC is a court of last resort that opens cases when other countries are unwilling or unable to launch prosecutions. The Hague-based court has no police force to make arrests and relies on assistance from other countries to detain suspects.

The EU鈥檚 judicial cooperation agency, Eurojust, helped establish a Joint Investigation Team made up of Ukraine and five other European nations. The team is meant to help facilitate evidence sharing.

This story was reported by The Associated Press.