Hanna Rassamakhina

In the three years since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Ukrainian law enforcement has documented over 150,000 war crimes. These crimes occurred wherever the Russian military has set foot. The staggering scale suggests Russia’s coordinated intent and policy aimed at the destruction of Ukraine as a nation. Yet the national justice system paints a different picture. Ukrainian courts have not been able to reflect the true scope of Russia’s crimes against the Ukrainian people. Anna Rassamakhina, MIHR’s expert in international humanitarian law, explains what needs to be done to straighten things out.

3 April 2025

In late October 2024, President Zelenskyy signed the second law implementing the Rome Statute. As a result, a new Article, “Crimes against Humanity,” was finally added to the Criminal Code of Ukraine. At the same time, the rules imposing criminal responsibility cannot apply retrospectively, which means that the crimes against humanity committed during the last 10 years of the war cannot be prosecuted by the Ukrainian law enforcement bodies. 

7 November 2024