UK allocates $4.6 million to support war crimes investigation in Ukraine

The U.K. government announced on Dec. 10 a 3.7-million-pound ($4.6 million) package to support the documentation, investigation, and prosecution of war crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.

Russia's full-scale war against Ukraine has been accompanied by numerous war crimes and atrocities, with Ukrainian prosecutors recording more than 110,000 war crime cases to date.

The newly-announced funding aims to provide open-source intelligence skills to Ukrainian prosecutors and train them to prepare well-evidenced legal cases.

"Through our financial backing and legal expertise, the U.K. will continue to stand with Ukraine as they hold perpetrators to account and ensure that survivor-centered justice is served," said Tariq Ahmad, the minister of state for the Middle East, North Africa, South Asia, Commonwealth, and United Nations.

The package includes 200,000 pounds ($251,000) to support the Warsaw-based Center for War Crimes Documentation run by the Ukrainian NGO Opora. This funding is a key part of the Trilateral Partnership on War Crimes Documentation involving the U.K., Poland, and Ukraine.

"Unpunished evil is only growing, therefore, the investigation of war crimes committed by the Russian Federation in Ukraine is an integral component of comprehensive security in Europe," Opora chair Olha Aivazovska commented.

The newly announced $4.6-million package builds on the previously pledged 2.5 million pounds ($3.1 million).

The U.K. government said it has also provided training to over 300 Ukrainian judges and prosecutors, 78 police officers, and 227 civil society organizations in regard to war crimes investigation, prosecution, and victim assistance.