Courtside

National guard special operations soldiers checks for anti-personnel mines and booby traps in a building previously used as a residence by the head of Russian occupying forces in Kharkiv oblast, Ukraine. © Carl Court/Getty Images

Russian Soldier Indicted for Cruel Treatment

If convicted, 26-year-old faces up to 12 years in prison for violating the laws and customs of war.

25 Mar 25

The graves of more than twenty men that were reportedly killed by Russian forces are seen at the Kherson city ceremony on November 20, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine. © Chris Mcrath/Getty Images

Former Ukrainian Police Officer Convicted of Kidnap and Torture

Victims testify how man known as “the overseer” ordered their ill-treatment.

19 Mar 25

Danislan Kuramayev, a 22-year-old Russian soldier, faces a trial in absentia on charges of raping a woman in July 2022 during the occupation of the Borova community in the Kharkiv region.

Russian Soldier Faces in Absentia Trial for Rape

Survivor of assault was forced to find refuge by hiding in a minefield.

12 Mar 25

Photo from the January 21, 2025 hearing. © Valeria Yehoshyna

Trial of Russian Who Told Husband to “Rape Ukrainian Women” Proceeds

Sole witness in case gives evidence to Kyiv’s Shevchenko district court.

10 Mar 25

Vakulenko was murdered during the occupation of Izium in 2022 after being abducted from his home by Russian soldiers. © Maria Lysytska-Beskorska/Creative Commons

Hearing Over Murder of Famed Children’s Author Adjourned

The body was found in a mass grave in Izium; forensic examination confirmed he had been shot.

25 Feb 25

A 33-year-old Russian soldier, Alexander Kuleshov participated in the occupation of the Kupiansk district of the Kharkiv region and is linked to at least two kidnappings of police officers in March 2022. © Spencer Platt/Getty Images

Closed-Door Trial for Russian Soldier Accused of Torturing Police Officers

Due to security concerns, the victims requested the proceedings not be open to the public.

25 Feb 25

A member of the Ukrainian military walks through the basement rooms of a restaurant local residents say was used as a torture site by Russian forces during their occupation of Snihurivka on November 23, 2022. © Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Russian Captain Convicted for Torturing Ukrainian Police Officers

The court classified the victims as civilians who maintained their protective status, rather than combatants.

20 Feb 25

Items are seen inside a cell at a temporary detention centre which is believed to have been used by Russian forces to jail and torture civilians on November 16, 2022 in Kherson, Ukraine, © Chris McGrath/Getty Images

Russian Soldier Accused of Sexual Assault of Kherson Man

Civilian was among residents held and tortured during the first weeks of the occupation.

20 Feb 25

Crosses remain in exhumed graves in a mass gravesite on January 21, 2025 in Izyum, Ukraine.

Two Izyum Murder Cases Combined in One Proceeding

One of the alleged victims has never been found; the other was buried in a mass grave.

18 Feb 25

The trial of the Russian servicemen Konstantin Smirnov and Denis Podgorny began in July 2024 and the verdict was announced by a three-judge panel of the Chernihiv District Court on February 3, 2025. © Oksana Matsopa/IWPR

Russian Soldiers Convicted of Executing Brothers

One brother survived and was able to identify those responsible for killing his two siblings.

6 Feb 25

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