Russian war crimes

Trump wants to slash war crimes investigation funds, Reuters reports

One of the groups targeted for termination is Global Rights Compliance, which gathers evidence of Russian war crimes across Ukraine, including torture and sexual violence.

Russian court convicts 184 Ukrainian POWs captured in Kursk Oblast of terrorism, Mediazona reports

A Russian military court has convicted 184 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) captured in Kursk Oblast of acts of terrorism, Mediazona reported on June 25.

Ukraine, Council of Europe sign historic agreement to establish tribunal on Russian aggression

Ukraine and the Council of Europe signed a landmark agreement to establish a Special Tribunal for the Crime of Aggression, aimed at prosecuting Russian leadership for the full-scale invasion. The signing follows more than three years of diplomatic efforts and deliberation.

Putin to skip BRICS summit in Brazil due to ICC arrest warrant

Brazil is a member of the ICC and a signatory to the Rome Statute, meaning it is obliged to arrest Russian President Vladimir Putin if he enters the country.

Ukrainians forcibly deported by Russia held in basement without food, water, media reports

Over 45 Ukrainians forcibly deported by Russia from Ukraine's occupied territories are being held in a basement at Russia's border with Georgia without food, water, and basic healthcare, independent media outlet Astra reported on June 21.

Ukraine documents 366 cases of war-related sexual violence, most victims women

The victims include 231 women, 134 men, and 19 children, according to Ukraine's Foreign Ministry.

Russia's prison chief sentenced in absentia for torture chambers in Kherson Oblast

Arkady Gostev, head of Russia's Federal Penitentiary Service, was found guilty of orchestrating the transformation of captured Ukrainian prisons into torture sites.

‘Beyond cynical’ – Russian doctor carved ‘Glory to Russia’ scar on POW during operation, Ukraine says

After more than three years of Russia’s full-scale invasion, each new revelation of cruel treatment of Ukrainians in Russian captivity hardly surprises anyone. But when a photo recently emerged online, showing a “Glory to Russia” scar on the body of a Ukrainian prisoner of war (POW), it sent shockwaves

Cluster munitions used in overnight Russian strike on Ukraine, Kyiv mayor says

"On the capital's Nyvky neighborhood, emergency workers are now finding these kinds of cluster munition parts," Mayor Vitali Klitschko said in a statement.

With only 2 weeks of funding left, US group tracking Russian abduction of Ukrainian children prepares to shut down

"Right now, we are running on fumes," Nathaniel Raymond, the lab's executive director, told CNN. "As of July 1, we lay off all of our staff across Ukraine and other teams, and our work tracking the kids officially ends."

Controversial Russian literature prize sparks debate on separating culture from war crimes

Launched to promote Russian literature on the global stage during Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, the new Dar (“Gift”) literary prize is already mired in controversy — and not just for its troubling timing. After Ukrainian author Maria Galina declined the award for her wartime chronicle of Odesa, attention shifted

Without justice, war will come back, veteran reporter says

Janine di Giovanni, a veteran war reporter and author who has covered decades of conflicts in Rwanda, Syria, Iraq, and Bosnia, reflects on her work in Ukraine and other conflicts.

War’s unseen isolation: A Ukrainian officer’s story of survival and hope

A lot depends on the circumstances under which you try to define or feel your own loneliness. Let me begin with my biography — my recent story. I joined the army in the first days of Russia’s full-scale invasion in 2022, as an officer in the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

The Kyiv Independent wins Ukrainian journalism award for exposing Russian soldiers’ sexual violence

The Kyiv Independent's investigative documentary, "He Came Back," which exposes sexual violence committed by Russian soldiers in Ukraine, has won the 2025 Ukrainian journalism award, "Honor of the Profession."

'No God But Theirs' | Investigation into systemic terror against Ukrainian Christian churches under Russian occupation

Ukrainian Security Service charges captured Russian soldier with executing POWs

According to the SBU, the soldier, a rifleman with Russia's 40th Separate Marine Brigade, participated in the point-blank shooting of two detained Ukrainian servicemen on Jan. 9 near Kursk.

'Shoot them on the spot' — Ukraine's military intel records over 150 cases of Russia executing POWs

The agency noted that this figure includes those cases recorded by HUR, suggesting the actual total may be higher.

Russia executes 2 Ukrainian POWs near Pokrovsk, prosecutors say

According to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, the incident occurred on May 22 during an attack on Ukrainian positions in one of the most active combat zones of the front line.

9 Ukrainian children rescued from Russian-occupied territories, President's Office says

Among the rescued children is a girl whose life was in danger due to the lack of adequate medical care in the occupied territories, and a boy who, along with his mother, was locked in a basement by Russian forces while his father was tortured in a nearby room, Presidential Office chief Andriy Yermak said.

'War crimes have been committed' — Rubio admits Russia is an aggressor, declines to label Putin as a war criminal

"War crimes have been committed, no doubt, and who is responsible for that, there will be a time and place for that accountability, but right now the job is to end the war," U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said.

Investigation: Uncovering the secret Russian FSB operation to loot Ukraine's museums

Editor's note: This story is based on the Kyiv Independent's investigative documentary, "Curated Theft" – watch it in English here, for free. As Ukraine's liberating forces advanced in the fall of 2022, several trucks stopped near the rear yard of the Kherson Local History Museum. Inside the building itself, dozens of

Russia killed Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina — but not her words or quest for justice

Ukrainian author Victoria Amelina never got to finish writing her book “Looking at Women, Looking at War.” After she was killed in a Russian missile strike on Kramatorsk in Ukraine’s eastern Donetsk Oblast in 2023, it fell upon her closest friends and colleagues to do what they could to

Will Trump help Putin escape punishment for his crimes in Ukraine?

Under former President Joe Biden, the U.S. took the unprecedented step of deepening cooperation with international courts of law. Washington has never been party to the Rome Statute, the treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC), and U.S. policy towards the Hague-based international tribunal has varied widely

European Parliament passes resolution demanding return of Ukrainian children abducted by Russia

Lawmakers urged the EU and its member states to step up efforts to hold Moscow accountable through international courts and support for Ukraine’s campaign to bring its children home.

Bessent agrees Putin is a war criminal, but peace talks should continue, he says

When asked if he considers Russian President Vladimir Putin a "war criminal," U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent replied, saying, "Yes."

Ukraine war latest: 205 Ukrainian POWs released in prisoner swap; drone attacks intensify against Moscow

Key developments on May 6: * Ukraine brings home 205 POWs in prisoner exchange with Russia * Russian soldiers executed 3 unarmed Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk Oblast, prosecutors say * Russia allegedly downs 3 drones approaching Moscow as Putin prepares Victory Day parade * Ukraine stabilizes Pokrovsk front, seizes tactical initiative in some areas,

As Russia trains abducted children for war, Ukraine fights uphill battle to bring them home

Around the world, abducting a child is a serious crime punishable by years behind bars. But when the kidnapper is Russia, justice remains a distant hope. So does the child’s return home. Since the start of the full-scale invasion, Ukraine has identified over 19,500 children who have been

Russia used thermobaric weapons in drone strike on Kharkiv, Ukrainian prosecutors say

Thermobaric munitions is a type of weapon known for generating powerful blast waves and high-temperature clouds, causing severe destruction and posing extreme risks to civilians.

Thousands of Ukrainian civilians are locked in Russian prisons — will US peace talks leave them behind?

When Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna’s body was returned from Russian captivity with organs missing to hide evidence of torture, the revelation sent shockwaves around the world. Roshchyna died in Russian captivity in the fall of 2024, but her body was only returned to Ukraine in February and officially identified

Trump admin fires coordinator responsible for collecting data on Russia's war crimes in Ukraine, WP reports

The White House also disbanded the Justice Department's War Crimes Accountability Team and dismantled a program to seize assets of sanctioned Russian oligarchs, the WP reported.

'I didn't have time to think. I just acted' – how brave teen rescued people in Sumy attack

On a quiet morning on April 13, Maryna Illiashenko and her 13-year-old son Kyrylo were taking a bus through the city of Sumy to see his grandmother, as they often do on Sundays. It was a route they knew by heart — one they'd taken countless times. But that morning, out

SBU says it detained '5 pro-Russian agitators' for promoting Kremlin narratives, justifying war crimes

Among those detained is a former member of the banned Nashi party, linked to former Ukrainian pro-Russian lawmaker Yevhen Murayev, who fled Ukraine in May 2022.