Priest Yuriy Potykun conducts a memorial service at the mass burial site in the forest on the outskirts of Izyum.
Priest Yuriy Potykun conducts a memorial service at the mass burial site in the forest on the outskirts of Izyum. © Danil Pavlov

Ukraine Justice Report - Issue 18

29 November 2022

IWPR's Frontline Updates – unique insights from our network of local reporters and updates from our programmes.

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IWPR’s weekly Ukraine Justice Report provides an overview of key events and links to essential reading from Ukrainian and international reports alongside dedicated IWPR reporting and analysis.

Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service carry black plastic bags with bodies at a mass burial site during an exhumation in Izyum, eastern Ukraine.
Members of the Ukrainian State Emergency Service carry black plastic bags with bodies at a mass burial site during an exhumation in Izyum, eastern Ukraine. © Danylo Pavlov

Searching for the Dead

Mobile war crimes investigation teams are collecting evidence across the country to bring perpetrators to justice.
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A house destroyed during battles at the start of Russia's full scale invasion, in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine.
A house destroyed during battles at the start of Russia's full scale invasion, in Chernihiv Oblast, Ukraine. © Ed Ram/Getty Images
COURT REPORT

First Sexual Violence War Crime Conviction

Russian serviceman sentenced to 12 years in prison in absentia.
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IWPR's Frontline Updates
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UKRAINE JUSTICE BRIEFING

Tuesday, 29 November ‘22

This week’s overview of key events and links to essential reading.

•  Kherson Documentation
•  Fake Surrender in Captivity in Makiivka Will be Investigation
•  Legal Instruments for Russian Compensation
•  Prosecutor’s Office Abroad

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Simple wooden crosses with numbers mark graves in Pishchanske cemetery on Shakespeare Street in Izyum’s outskirts, where Russians buried most of the residents who died during the occupation.
Simple wooden crosses with numbers mark graves in Pishchanske cemetery on Shakespeare Street in Izyum’s outskirts, where Russians buried most of the residents who died during the occupation. © Danil Pavlov
Employees of Ukraine’s state emergency service carry a body bag in the pine forest in the outskirts of the retaken town of Izyum. Ukrainian authorities discovered a mass burial site with hundreds of graves.
Employees of Ukraine’s state emergency service carry a body bag in the pine forest in the outskirts of the retaken town of Izyum. Ukrainian authorities discovered a mass burial site with hundreds of graves. © Danil Pavlov
Protected by head-to-toe suits and rubber gloves, workers recover the remains of the victims. They carefully collect and classify all possible objects, which could help to identify those buried in unmarked graves.
Protected by head-to-toe suits and rubber gloves, workers recover the remains of the victims. They carefully collect and classify all possible objects, which could help to identify those buried in unmarked graves. © Danil Pavlov
An investigator examines an exhumed body. As of November, 447 bodies had been found, of both military personnel and civilians, including children. On November 28, DNA analysis identified the body of Volodymyr Vakulenko, a young poet and writer, who kept a diary about Russian occupation and hid it under a cherry tree in his garden.
An investigator examines an exhumed body. As of November, 447 bodies had been found, of both military personnel and civilians, including children. On November 28, DNA analysis identified the body of Volodymyr Vakulenko, a young poet and writer, who kept a diary about Russian occupation and hid it under a cherry tree in his garden. © Danil Pavlov
A black bag containing an exhumed body from the mass grave in Izyum reads 344 “Unknown man”.
A black bag containing an exhumed body from the mass grave in Izyum reads 344 “Unknown man”. © Danil Pavlov
Police officers work in a tent near the mass burial site.
Police officers work in a tent near the mass burial site. © Danil Pavlov
A refrigerated truck transports exhumed bodies from Izyum’s mass grave site.
A refrigerated truck transports exhumed bodies from Izyum’s mass grave site. © Danil Pavlov
Priest Yuriy Potykun conducts a memorial service at the mass burial site in the forest on the outskirts of Izyum.
Priest Yuriy Potykun conducts a memorial service at the mass burial site in the forest on the outskirts of Izyum. © Danil Pavlov
Viktor Sytnyk, 64, holds the death certificate of his mother Natalia who died on May 21. After a rocket hit their house, she was rushed to the local hospital and underwent surgery, but died following a traumatic shock.
Viktor Sytnyk, 64, holds the death certificate of his mother Natalia who died on May 21. After a rocket hit their house, she was rushed to the local hospital and underwent surgery, but died following a traumatic shock. © Danil Pavlov
After detailing the circumstances of how his mother died to the prosecutor, Viktor Sytnyk signs a statement giving his consent to provide DNA samples and process personal data.
After detailing the circumstances of how his mother died to the prosecutor, Viktor Sytnyk signs a statement giving his consent to provide DNA samples and process personal data. © Danil Pavlov
Prosecutor Ivan Likhovyn sorts Viktor Sytnyk’s DNA samples. Cotton swabs are rubbed inside his cheek, packed in an envelope and sent for forensic analysis.
Prosecutor Ivan Likhovyn sorts Viktor Sytnyk’s DNA samples. Cotton swabs are rubbed inside his cheek, packed in an envelope and sent for forensic analysis. © Danil Pavlov
Prosecutor Ivan Likhovyn packs Viktor Sytnyk's DNA samples in an envelope. The sample will be added to the database with those collected from exhumed bodies in the mass grave to find a match.
Prosecutor Ivan Likhovyn packs Viktor Sytnyk's DNA samples in an envelope. The sample will be added to the database with those collected from exhumed bodies in the mass grave to find a match. © Danil Pavlov
The investigator records the details of the death of Victor Sytnyk's mother. By the time Viktor had arranged the funeral and returned to the morgue, his mother’s body was gone. He was told that a team organised by the occupation authorities had already taken it to the cemetery.
The investigator records the details of the death of Victor Sytnyk's mother. By the time Viktor had arranged the funeral and returned to the morgue, his mother’s body was gone. He was told that a team organised by the occupation authorities had already taken it to the cemetery. © Danil Pavlov
A woman sits with a prosecutor in Izyum’s makeshift police station in a former shopping centre. Residents who are trying to locate the bodies of their beloved queue to give testimonies and provide DNA samples.
A woman sits with a prosecutor in Izyum’s makeshift police station in a former shopping centre. Residents who are trying to locate the bodies of their beloved queue to give testimonies and provide DNA samples. © Danil Pavlov
A woman tries to connect a broken phone to a prosecutor's computer to show a copy of her dead mother's passport.
A woman tries to connect a broken phone to a prosecutor's computer to show a copy of her dead mother's passport. © Danil Pavlov
Viktor Sytnykin in the yard of his house. He is clinging on to the hope that the body of his 90-year-old mother Natalia will be identified. "I don't believe [the Russians] will be punished, but I want my mother to have at least a grave," the former forest ranger said.
Viktor Sytnykin in the yard of his house. He is clinging on to the hope that the body of his 90-year-old mother Natalia will be identified. "I don't believe [the Russians] will be punished, but I want my mother to have at least a grave," the former forest ranger said. © Danil Pavlov
Viktor Sytnyk near his house in Izyum. On May 21, a rocket fell in their yard, shattering the window in his mother Natalia’s room. She died from her injuries.
Viktor Sytnyk near his house in Izyum. On May 21, a rocket fell in their yard, shattering the window in his mother Natalia’s room. She died from her injuries. © Danil Pavlov
Viktor Sytnyk feeds cats in the kitchen of his house.
Viktor Sytnyk feeds cats in the kitchen of his house. © Danil Pavlov
Viktor Sytnyk shows a pillow cut by shrapnel, with which he covered his face to walk into his mother’s room after a rocket fell in their yard on May 21.
Viktor Sytnyk shows a pillow cut by shrapnel, with which he covered his face to walk into his mother’s room after a rocket fell in their yard on May 21. © Danil Pavlov
Local residents take all available wood from a destroyed school to use as firewood. There is no heating in the town, and electricity is limited to the bare minimum.
Local residents take all available wood from a destroyed school to use as firewood. There is no heating in the town, and electricity is limited to the bare minimum. © Danil Pavlov
A woman walks in front of the skeleton of a building in central Izyum. Hardly a building in the town is left undamaged.
A woman walks in front of the skeleton of a building in central Izyum. Hardly a building in the town is left undamaged. © Danil Pavlov
Ukrainian servicemen at the checkpoint at the entrance of Izyum. Russian troops retreated on September 10, six months after occupying the town in the Kharkiv region.
Ukrainian servicemen at the checkpoint at the entrance of Izyum. Russian troops retreated on September 10, six months after occupying the town in the Kharkiv region. © Danil Pavlov
What remains of the town’s bus station.
What remains of the town’s bus station. © Danil Pavlov
A chair with the Ukrainian flag sits in front of the heavily damaged building of Izyum’s district court.
A chair with the Ukrainian flag sits in front of the heavily damaged building of Izyum’s district court. © Danil Pavlov
Ukraine: “I Want My Mother to Have a Grave”
Photo essay

More from IWPR's Ukraine Voices Project

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Giving Birth Under Fire

Maternity wards have been among the hundreds of healthcare facilities struck since the start of the full-scale invasion.

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Release from Russian Captivity

Freed women relate stories of violence, starvation and emotional abuse.

© Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Ukraine Justice Report

Ukraine Justice Report provides updated and in-depth coverage of judicial processes taking place across the country. 
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