Conflict

Yaroslav, 6, who has lost his ability to speak, leaves for home after school on December 14, 2023 in Vysokopillya, Ukraine. © Gaelle Girbes/Getty Images

A Long Way Home; Ukraine’s Child Deportees

Those investigating potential war crimes must gather evidence while reducing trauma for vulnerable minors.

9 Jan 24

26-year-old Ainur Shafikov was among the Russian forces deployed to the eastern front to capture the Kharkiv region. © Kharkiv Regional Prosecutor's Office

Case Launched Over Cruel Treatment of Civilians

Serviceman accused of seeking revenge on Ukrainian man who refused to sell him his three-year-old daughter.

9 Jan 24

Forensic police exhume bodies from unidentified makeshift graves at the Pishanske cemetery on September 23, 2022 in Izium, Ukraine. A total of 447 bodies was exhumed from the gravesite, including 22 soldiers and 5 children, and the bodies will be examined for possible war crimes. © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images

Key Challenges in Prosecuting War Crimes

International advisor highlights need to appoint more judges and advance legal reforms to expedite judicial processes.

19 Dec 23

Nikolay Khachaturyan was found guilty of violating the laws and customs of war for kidnapping a 15-year-old boy for holding a teenage boy hostage during the occupation of the Chernihiv region in March 2022. Chernihiv, northeast of Kyiv, was an early target of Russia's offensive after its February 24th invasion. © Alexey Furman/Getty Images

Russian Commander Sentenced in Absentia Over Teen Hostage

Officer blackmailed child’s mother for information about the location of Ukrainian forces.

19 Dec 23

A woman holds her dog while being evacuated from her home due to Russian invasion on March 06, 2023 in Kupiansk, Ukraine. © John Moore/Getty Images

A Victim-Centred Approach to Prosecuting Sexual Violence

Ukraine is implementing dedicated policies including safeguarding and psychological assistance.

12 Dec 23

Matresses are seen in a basement where people were held by Russian forces, on April 21, 2022 in Hostomel, Ukraine. © Alexey Furman/Getty Images

Russian Major General Accused of Ordering Abuses

Detainees were allegedly held in refrigerators and denied food and medical treatment.

12 Dec 23

Bombed-out apartment blocks on Tsentralnaya Street in Borodyanka, Ukraine, 28 November 2023. © Iryna Domashchenko

A Body in the Forest

Court hears evidence of the circumstances surrounding the death of a 32-year-old Ukrainian man who went missing in the Bucha district.

5 Dec 23

Bellingcat is a Netherlands-based investigative journalism group that specialises in fact-checking and open-source intelligence (OSINT).

Integrating OSINT into Justice Processes

A Bellingcat initiative explores the admissibility and weight of open source evidence in the prosecution of war crimes.

5 Dec 23

Police Major Bohdan Oleksandrovych Lukavenko, a senior investigator of special importance cases of the administration of the of Kharkiv oblast, dusts for fingerprints on items found in a building used as a local headquarters by Russian occupying forces in Vyshneve, Kharkiv oblast, Ukraine. © Carl Court/Getty Images

Training and Technology Support Justice Processes, But Challenges Remain

Authors of landmark study identify Ukrainian achievements amid ongoing hostilities.

28 Nov 23

Andriy Bublev, a commander of the rifle regiment of the so-called Luhansk People's Republic (LPR) forces has been charged with attempted rape during the occupation of the Kharkiv region last summer. © SBU

Rifle Commander to be Tried for Sexual Violence

Wanted man believed to be in territory of Luhansk oblast, where he is serving with militia forces.