Justice in Wartime: Ukrainians Defend Russian Clients
Attorneys face procedural hurdles and threats to their professional standing to secure verdicts that meet objective standards.
Ukrainian defence lawyers working on war crimes say they must navigate legal complexity, moral dilemmas and risk their reputations to ensure fair verdicts that stand up to international scrutiny.
“We need to do a better job of explaining to people that a defence attorney is just doing their job and is duty-bound to do it well,” said lawyer Andrii Domanskyi, describing frequent pressure, insults and aggression, even from survivors and witnesses.
According to a 2024 survey by the Rating research group, nearly half of Ukrainians believe that vigilante justice against Russian war criminals is justified.
“Many people find it strange that I, someone who personally lived through the occupation, can defend such defendants,” Domanskyi continued. “But I explain it this way: just as a doctor treats any patient, a lawyer provides legal assistance. It’s our professional duty.”
In Ukraine, there is a widespread tendency to conflate defence attorneys with their clients, which can lead to lawyers being seen as complicit in the defendant’s actions.
“During cross-examinations, we have to ask direct, precise procedural questions, such as, ‘Where did the witness see the defendant?’, ‘How did they identify them?’, ‘Who provided this information?’” Domanskyi continued.
Witnesses can react negatively and sometimes even threaten the lawyer. In response, judges often have to explain that the defence attorney is fulfilling a professional role essential for the justice system to function.
Domanskyi compares the work of a defence attorney to a practice within the Catholic Church: during the canonisation of saints, the Vatican required a so-called devil’s advocate to challenge the miracles in order to test their validity.
“In the same way, a Ukrainian defence attorney should test the prosecution’s case, even if the defendant serves in the aggressor nation’s army,” he explained. “This process helps prevent individuals from being wrongfully prosecuted.”
Experts emphasise that this imperative stems not just form moral concerns but from national self-interest. War crimes verdicts need to be able to withstand scrutiny in international courts. In future appeals, the key issue will whether Ukraine followed due process.
“In past conflicts, nations have repeatedly lost cases in international courts for violating the right to a fair trial,” said Oleksandr Baranov, head of the Coordination Centre for Legal Aid Provision, which defends Russian soldiers in court. “If we fail to uphold these standards, our verdicts could be challenged in the future by institutions like the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).”
“We must remain objective because the international community is watching to see if our judicial system can deliver impartial verdicts after objective investigations,” agreed Taras Semkiv, head of the procedural guidance directorate of the War Crimes Department at the prosecutor general’s office.
He recalled supervising a team of five prosecutors in one high-profile case that proved particularly controversial. In 2024, the Shevchenkivskyi District Court of Kyiv found Denis Kulikovsky, the former commandant of the notorious Izolyatsia prison in Donetsk, guilty of organising and participating in the torture of Ukrainian POWs and civilian hostages.
Despite public expectations of a life sentence, the investigation failed to prove Kulikovsky’s involvement in murders and he was sentenced to 15 years imprisonment.
“We should not become like Russia, where people are branded without evidence and due process is ignored in sentencing,” Semkiv concluded.
Criminal Procedure
Most war crimes cases in Ukrainian courts are tried in absentia. In these situations, the state appoints defence attorneys through its free legal aid system.
Defence attorneys are appointed in accordance with Ukraine’s criminal procedure code and represent their clients during both the pre-trial investigation and the trial itself.
However, the conditions these lawyers face differ significantly from a usual criminal proceeding. Russian military personnel are served a notice of suspicion via the Uryadovyi Kurier newspaper or the official website of the prosecutor general’s office. In some cases, the accused are contacted directly.
“Court-appointed defence attorneys, among others, try to establish contact through available channels, including social media or relatives, but in most cases, these attempts are unsuccessful,” said Baranov.
This is a key distinction from ordinary criminal proceedings: the lawyer usually has no direct contact with their client in cases tried in absentia, As a result, they cannot coordinate strategy, obtain explanations or gather additional information, which severely hinders the client’s right to an effective defence.
Another challenge is the sheer scale of the proceedings. Ukrainian courts are handling hundreds of war crimes cases, and the number continues to grow.
In 2025, a total of 105,600 cases of free secondary legal aid were registered, with 614 of those assignments related to war crimes.
“The number of war crimes cases is steadily rising and it’s not always possible to accurately predict how many state-appointed lawyers will be needed in the near future,” Baranov said. “This complicates resource planning, particularly funding.”
Monitoring by the Ukrainian Bar Association has identified systemic problems, including a shortage of judges, overburdened courts, frequent hearing postponements and difficulty accessing case information.
Moreover, these cases require specialised knowledge of international humanitarian, human rights and criminal law.
Taken together, these circumstances – heavy workloads, limited client communication, the complexity of cases and the need for specialised knowledge – create the risk of a perfunctory approach to legal defence.
Observers from the Ukrainian Bar Association have occasionally documented cases that suggest a defence attorney’s participation was merely pro forma. This includes instances where a lawyer engaged minimally in proceedings or failed to attend hearings.
One potential avenue for reform is the involvement of an international element in judicial processes, an idea proposed by lawyer Roman Martynovskyi. According to him, a hybrid court model – where cases are heard by two Ukrainian judges and three foreign jurors – could be effective.
“War crimes cases require a deep understanding of international humanitarian and criminal law,” Martynovskyi notes. “The problem is that neither lawyers nor judges are systematically prepared for this, even with the training they’ve received.”
He believes that foreign experts could partially address this issue, not only by building trust but also by facilitating a transfer of knowledge.
“The idea is for foreign judges to form a majority on the court in the initial phase,” he said. “This would allow Ukrainian judges to gain practical experience and gradually take over this role.”
Martynovskyi also proposed greater specialisation. Under the current system, lawyers are often assigned to war crimes cases at random, meaning defence attorneys can be brought in who lack the requisite experience or personal commitment.
One potential solution is to establish a dedicated pool of lawyers who specialise in war crimes and are trained in international humanitarian and criminal law.
"The goal isn’t to create a restriction, but rather a point of reference: a roster of specialists who would be tapped first for these cases,” Martynovskyi explaind. “This would eliminate haphazard assignments and elevate the quality of the legal defence.”
Baranov argued that a similar approach had already been implemented. The current system did not randomly assign lawyers; rather, each one only takes on cases in which they can ensure a proper defence.
“A lawyer is bound by the rules of professional ethics and the terms of their agreement. They cannot take on a case they are not competent to handle,” he continued. “So, in effect, a ‘pool’ of qualified lawyers already exists – it’s just formed by different mechanisms.”
