Three years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the need for justice remains steadfast
Three years since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the need for justice remains steadfast
Kyiv, 24 February 2025 – Today marks the third anniversary of Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The scale of international crimes that Russian authorities have committed—and continue to commit—against Ukrainian civilians, prisoners of war, infrastructure, and environment continues to demand multiple avenues for accountability. The gravity and consequences of these crimes affect current and future generations of Ukrainians, as well as the whole international community.
Ukrainian national justice system continues to function amidst the ongoing war and significant overload. In 2024 alone, Ukrainian prosecutors registered over 35,000 incidents involving potential war crimes, bringing the total to more than 157,000 registered incidents since the beginning of the invasion. The same year, Ukrainian courts issued 41 verdicts for “violation of laws and customs of war” (article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine), with most trials being held in absentia.
The third year of the full-scale invasion was followed by multiple efforts to break the cycle of impunity for Russia’s international crimes, including the crime of aggression.
In 2024 Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), Clooney Foundation for Justice (CFJ), and Truth Hounds filed a complaint to the UN Human Rights Committee (HRC) on behalf of 18 Ukrainian victims of a Russian missile attack arguing that it constituted a breach of the victims’ right to life under Article 6 of the ICCPR (more information here).
In January 2025, the 13th meeting of the International Core Group on the creation of a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression against Ukraine laid the legal foundations of the mechanism, including key elements of its statute. The ICC issued arrest warrants to Sergei Kobylash, Viktor Sokolov, Sergei Shoigu and Valery Gerasimov for alleged international crimes in Ukraine. In October 2024 Ukraine’s “Law on the Ratification of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and its amendments” came into force and on 1 January 2025, Ukraine became the 125th State Party to the ICC. Members of the joint investigation team (JIT) on alleged core international crimes committed in Ukraine have agreed to amend the JIT Agreement to enhance investigations on crimes of torture, ill-treatment and filtration. Finland has brought charges against Yan Petrovsky – a member of the “Rusich” paramilitary group, accused of alleged war crimes in Ukraine.
Despite all the unprecedented responses, thousands of Ukrainian victims abroad, in Ukraine and in the occupied territories, those detained in the Russian Federation, are still waiting for justice. Now it is important for states and civil society organizations to coordinate efforts to uphold the fundamental principles of international law and prioritize justice for victims at both national and global levels.
Legal Action Worldwide (LAW), a human rights organization operating in Ukraine and other conflict zones, is committed to supporting Ukrainian survivors in pursuing justice.
