A shortened model of this textual content was revealed in The Economist.
For many Ukrainians, the Russian invasion divided life into "earlier than" and "after." I’m no exception. I used to be as soon as the Deputy Prosecutor Basic of Ukraine. As we speak, I serve within the Armed Forces of Ukraine, engaged on points associated to the regulation of conflict, together with the gathering of proof from the battlefield (battlefield forensics). For a interval, I lived in a dugout close to Pokrovsk, witnessing firsthand the brave protection of Ukrainian lands and folks.
Our losses are monumental. There’s nearly no time to replicate. And but, I can not cease eager about my former work – particularly, about how the system of worldwide justice is failing. Russia seeks to evade accountability for its crimes – and, to some extent, it’s succeeding.
Ukraine and its companions are at the moment weighing a U.S.-Russian peace plan that proposes "full amnesty for wartime actions," with the events "agreeing to not deliver claims or settle additional disputes." Nevertheless, a blanket amnesty essentially contradicts worldwide regulation, as no state can nullify the gravest crimes. If such provisions are adopted, they may entrench impunity and undermine the foundations of the worldwide authorized order, together with efforts to determine a Particular Tribunal for the crime of aggression in opposition to Ukraine. To totally perceive what’s at stake, it’s value recalling the trail Ukraine has taken.
Earlier than the full-scale conflict, I organized and coordinated Ukraine's investigations into conflict crimes. I started in 2016 as a prosecutor for the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and Sevastopol, and later as Deputy Prosecutor Basic. Previous to that, there was no systematic work on worldwide crimes in Ukraine, as the sector was unfamiliar and underdeveloped. Even the authorized classification of occasions on the time was, to say the least, inaccurate. Again then, I believed that if we collected sufficient proof – documenting each destroyed constructing, each injured civilian, each extrajudicial killing – justice would inevitably prevail. But it surely turned out to be much more difficult.
We’re documenting worldwide crimes, and new proof emerges day-after-day. That’s the reason justice right now is as strategic a necessity as victory itself. Justice – not revenge. Deoccupying territory alone doesn’t assure justice. True justice can solely be achieved by a complete set of measures, together with holding perpetrators accountable.
But many nonetheless misunderstand the roots of this conflict. Some hint it to 2022, others to 2014. In actuality, Russia's marketing campaign to erase Ukrainian id has spanned centuries – from suppressing language and tradition to undermining statehood. This isn’t merely a conflict over territory. It’s a conflict for Ukraine's very existence.
When talks of ceasefires resurface, one reality should be said clearly: there may be no real, lasting peace with out justice. In March 2022, throughout negotiations in Istanbul, Russia tried to compel Ukraine to resign its authorized claims. The Russian memorandum submitted in June 2025 once more demanded that Ukraine abandon any "mutual claims" concerning dedicated crimes. These makes an attempt proceed even now. Ukraine is being supplied the phantasm of peace in alternate for its territory and for justice.
Justice, or a mere imitation of it?
Attaining justice has all the time been a problem for the worldwide group and has usually been perceived because the prerogative of the "victors." Within the age of hybrid wars, figuring out these "victors" is much harder. The state of affairs turns into much more troubling when the sufferer state itself is anticipated to prosecute the aggressor. Ukrainian courts should not the centuries-old Outdated Bailey of London. They lack each the institutional capability and the worldwide legitimacy required for such trials. Investigating a whole bunch of hundreds of incidents requires the involvement of a reputable worldwide mechanism.
Some proposed fashions might seem convincing on paper, however they’re unlikely to face up in follow. As an illustration, making a "regional" tribunal below the auspices of the Council of Europe could seem logical, but its jurisdiction is proscribed, and even its launch is at the moment in danger. Furthermore, below such a mannequin, the highest-ranking Russian officers – the president, prime minister, and international minister – those that bear the best accountability, would doubtless stay protected by immunity.
One promising resolution could possibly be the creation of a hybrid justice mechanism that may cowl the complete spectrum of worldwide crimes: aggression, conflict crimes, crimes in opposition to humanity, and genocide. Hybrid fashions have already confirmed their effectiveness: in Sierra Leone, a sitting head of state was prosecuted, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina, worldwide experience was built-in into the nationwide system. One other noteworthy instance is the Central African Republic, which may present invaluable classes for Ukraine.
Such partnerships not solely guarantee justice but additionally strengthen nationwide authorized establishments. Till 2019, Ukraine had nearly no infrastructure for investigating worldwide crimes. Even right now, it lacks the expertise and capability to deal with probably the most advanced circumstances independently. The involvement of worldwide judges and prosecutors is important to make sure that investigations are credible and authoritative.
Impunity is contagious
Justice for Ukraine is justice for the world. If a nuclear-armed state can invade one other nation and commit atrocities with out consequence, what which means do worldwide norms actually have?
We’re witnessing the erosion of worldwide felony justice. Mongolia and Tajikistan have refused to execute the ICC's arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin. The US has imposed sanctions on officers of the Courtroom itself. Hungary has successfully halted its cooperation with the ICC. These actions undermine the one everlasting court docket charged with prosecuting the gravest crimes. The Courtroom additionally faces challenges from inside. Within the early levels of an establishment's growth, the human issue is essential, as this work calls for dedication and a dedication to justice. The current removing of the ICC prosecutor, following a 12 months of allegations of misconduct, represents one more fracture within the fragile construction of worldwide justice.
The ICC can problem arrest warrants, however with out enforcement, they continue to be largely symbolic. If the Courtroom can not guarantee its personal selections are revered, what hope can a newly established tribunal have? Russia and different states are actively undermining the very idea of common jurisdiction. They ridicule the Courtroom, threaten its judges, and conceal behind diplomacy. If impunity turns into the norm, worldwide justice loses all which means.
But I’ve not misplaced hope. We proceed to gather proof, now as a part of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. Close to Pokrovsk, I witnessed Russian forces taking pictures Ukrainian prisoners at point-blank vary. I noticed wounded Ukrainian troopers executed regardless of providing no resistance. Such brutality retains all of us centered on the pursuit of justice.
Russia's conflict is a take a look at of the worldwide authorized order. If these crimes go unpunished, it should ship a transparent message which may makes proper and that borders may be redrawn by violence. The cruel actuality is that Ukraine can not uphold justice alone. The world should actively defend the requirements it claims to uphold. Declared values akin to human dignity and justice carry weight solely when grounded in advantage – knowledge, integrity, and true dedication to justice. Solely by working towards these virtues, moderately than merely proclaiming them, can the authorized and ethical order that sustains a free world be preserved.
