Russia

Ukraine / Russia: announcement of the creation of a tribunal for the crime of aggression. Photo: A Russian serviceman leans against a machine gun on the roof of an armed vehicle bearing the inscription ‘Z’.

Interview

What to make of the announced Tribunal for the crime of aggression?

12 May 2025 by Janet H. Anderson

On May 9 around 40 countries announced their support for the creation of a new international court to prosecute the “crime of aggression” by Russia against Ukraine. The result of a joint agreement between Ukraine and the Council of Europe.

Ukraine / Russia: prisoners of war and international humanitarian law. Photo: A Ukrainian prisoner bows his head in the dock during his trial in Rostov-on-Don, Russia.

Report

Ukrainian prisoners of war and the crisis of international law

9 May 2025 by Lily Hyde

Ukrainian prisoners of war appear to be systematically subjected to abuse by Russia. And the International Committee of the Red Cross is powerless to stop it. This is causing bitterness and disillusion.

During the battle of Kursk, in Russia, Ukrainian soldiers were captured. Their trials, mainly for acts of ‘terrorism’, are taking place in Moscow. Photo: A Ukrainian soldier with his back to a wall, head down, is held by a hooded Russian soldier.

Kursk’s battle goes to court in Moscow

1 April 2025 by Maria Koroleva

Moscow's retaking of the Kursk region in March could deprive Ukraine of a bargaining chip in the peace talks. And according to the Justice Info tally, 67 Ukrainian soldiers captured in Kursk have been tried.

Voislav Torden (Yan Petrovsky), leader of a group close to Russia, was sentenced to life imprisonment in Finland for war crimes committed in Ukraine. Photo: Torden in military uniform.

AFP

War crimes in Ukraine: a Russian sentenced to life in Finland

14 March 2025 by AFP

Voislav Torden is the first Russian citizen to be sentenced outside Ukraine for war crimes committed in that country. On Friday March 14, the leader of the Russian-affiliated paramilitary unit “Rusich Group” was sentenced to life [...]

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The invaders return - Poster for the redesigned ‘’The Invaders‘’ series. A map of the world is inlaid in the starry sky.

Infographic

7 March 2025 by Thierry Cruvellier

The invaders return More and more countries – Russia, Israel, the United States, China, Azerbaijan, Venezuela – are publicly declaring their intent to conquer territories by force, or like Rwanda are doing it without admitting. The world order establ [...]

Trial of Russian soldier Voislav Torden in Finland for possible war crimes committed in Ukraine. Torden sits on a television screen during his trial, surrounded by his lawyers.

23 January 2025 by Jeanette Björkqvist

Finland on the frontline for trying Russians for war crimes Finland is the stage for an unusual trial, where a 37-year-old Russian citizen is charged with war crimes committed in Ukraine. Voislav Torden is accused of leading an ambush attack in which 22 Ukrainian soldiers were killed, incl [...]

Sexual violence in Ukraine - As a result of the war with Russia, sexual crimes perpetrated by Russian soldiers are on the increase. photo: a woman hides her face with her hands.

12 December 2024 by Olga Zhuravel

“We need an example and people will speak up” 211 women and 118 men have been registered as victims of conflict-related sexual violence since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by Russian forces, according to the Prosecutor General of Ukraine. Our correspondent in Dnipro spok [...]

21 October 2024 by Maria Koroleva

The “Azov” trial in Russia is down to 12 defendants in court The “Azov” trial which began in Rostov-on-Don in June 2023 is the largest criminal case related to Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. In late August, the prosecution requested sentences ranging from 16 to 24 years for all accus [...]

The Epicentre hypermarket near Chernihiv (Ukraine) in 2022 after it was bombed by the Russian army. Photo: exterior view of the burnt-out hypermarket.

17 October 2024 by Ksenia Rekun

At the epicentre of environmental damage in Ukraine The war in Ukraine has led to major environmental damage to soil, air, water, and people, caused by Russian shelling. In the Chernihiv region only, Ukrainian authorities evaluate its cost at about 630 million dollars. How is this [...]

Oleg Myzhgorodskyi, an alleged member of the Ukrainian ‘Azov’ regiment, is accused of ‘terrorism’ in a trial in Russia. Photo: 2 side-by-side portraits of Myzhgorodskyi, in 2021 (before detention) and in 2023.

11 October 2024 by Valentyna Osterska

Chernihiv waits for its “Azov” fighters on trial in Russia “Oleg weighed 115 kilograms, he weighs only about 50 now,” says the sister of one of the alleged members of the Ukrainian “Azov” regiment accused of ‘terrorism’ in the Federation of Russia. While the Rostov-on-Don military court i [...]

Russia: persecution of LGBT people - Photo: artistic creation by Inna Mosina showing an almost naked woman lying in the middle of a pile of old televisions that have been turned off or whose images are blurred.

30 September 2024 by Maria Koroleva

LGBT people in Russia: searching for an internal enemy On September 12, a Moscow court sentenced two young men, Timur A. and Daniil R., to prison for standing near the window of their apartment without clothes. The case is one of hundreds in Russia, launched under the law to protect “ [...]

Trial for treason in Russia. Photo: Russian-American citizen Ksenia Karelina appears behind the glass of the dock in Yekaterinburg (Russia).

26 July 2024 by Maria Koroleva

Russia: a surge of treason cases for supporting Ukraine “Anyone is at risk now”, says a lawyer. In recent years, the number of treason cases in Russia has increased significantly. According to authorities, last year 39 people were convicted under this charge. Justice Info estimates tha [...]

Russian hate Speech - Photo : Vladimir Solovyov.

Podcast

12 July 2024 by Asymmetrical Haircuts

Prosecuting Russian hate speech What is ‘hate speech’ and can it be prosecuted as an international crime? In Ukraine, Russian propaganda has targeted Ukrainians as ‘Nazis’, ‘pigs’ or ‘dogs’ and it’s been used to justify crimes. In this podcast by our partners at [...]

Arrest warrants issued by the International Criminal Court (ICC) against senior Russian military officers for crimes committed in Ukraine. Photo: Valery Gerasimov and Sergei Shoigu in military uniforms (Russia)

AFP

25 June 2024 by AFP

ICC: Arrest warrants for the heads of the Russian army On 25 June, the International Criminal Court (ICC) announced that it had issued arrest warrants for Russian Chief of Staff Valery Gerasimov and former Russian Defence Minister Sergei Shoigu. They are both accused of war crimes for [...]

Irina Navalnaya trial in Russia. Photo: Navalnaya adopts a dreamy, feminine pose behind the glass of the dock. The young Ukrainian woman is accused of terrorism.

13 May 2024 by Maria Koroleva

Navalnaya’s case: how Ukrainian civilians are tried in Russia Irina Navalnaya, a 26-year-old Ukrainian woman, has been on trial in Russia for six months for allegedly attempting to blow up the Mariupol district administration building during the so-called referendum in the Donetsk People’s R [...]

Trial of a Russian soldier for war crimes near Kyiv, Ukraine - Photo: a Ukrainian civilian walks down the street while smoke is visible in the distance following a Russian shell strike.

25 April 2024 by Iryna Salii

War crimes in the Kyiv region: a Russian soldier sentenced to 12 years This case is one of the rare trials of Russian soldiers in Ukraine, for a war crime that took place near the city of Borodyanka, 25 kilometers distant from the martyred city of Bucha. One of the thousands of crimes committed in th [...]

Demonstration in Vilnius (Lithuania). Two women hold signs saying

Podcast

22 March 2024 by Asymmetrical Haircuts

It is "now or never", for a special tribunal on Russia's aggression To what extent is an ad hoc court on the crime of aggression still on the table, two years and a month after the Russian full scale invasion of Ukraine? Discussions are still taking place behind closed doors, explain our Asymmetri [...]

Mevloud Kharazishvili, victim of the war in Georgia and beneficiary of the International Criminal Court (ICC) Trust Fund for Victims assistance programme. Photo: Kharazishvili shows the pasture where he was kidnapped by Russian soldiers.

Report

21 March 2024 by Franck Petit

Georgia: ICC Trust Fund for Victims struggles with reality The central Georgian town of Gori is known as the birthplace of Stalin, whose statue long stood before the town hall and was only removed after the Russia-Georgia war of August 2008. For almost a year now, Gori has been the site o [...]

Trial of a Ukrainian in Russia: Anton Cherednik, in Rostov-on-Don.

18 March 2024 by Maria Koroleva

Russia: 30 times fewer Ukrainians sentenced than in the occupied territories In Ukrainian territories occupied by Russia, courts report on new sentences almost every week, but in Russia the Southern Military Court in Rostov-on-Don has issued nearly 30 times fewer verdicts in the past year, Justice Info has [...]