PRESS RELEASE : UK announces further support for Ukraine’s efforts to bring war criminals to justice [December 2023]

The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 10 December 2023.

The UK government has announced funding to support the documentation, investigation and prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine.

• UK announces £3.7 million package to support the documentation, investigation, and prosecution of war crimes committed in Ukraine
• package includes funding for the training of Ukrainian prosecutors in the use of open-source intelligence to identify potential crimes, and the expansion of the OPORA War Crimes Documentation Centre in Poland
• latest announcement builds on previous pledge of up to £2.5 million and will help Ukraine hold Russian forces accountable for atrocities committed against the Ukrainian people

The UK government has today announced a further £3.7 million of funding to support Ukraine as it pursues justice for the victims of Russian atrocities.

Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the Office of the Ukrainian Prosecutor General has recorded more than 110,000 cases of war crimes. In the face of Russian atrocities, the UK has stood with Ukraine, and played a leading role in ensuring that perpetrators are held accountable.

Backed by a previous UK pledge of £2.5 million, Ukrainian authorities have already made significant progress in bringing those responsible for atrocities against the Ukrainian people to justice, successfully prosecuting over 50 Russian individuals for war crimes committed in Ukraine.

The UK has now committed an additional £3.7 million of funding to support the documentation, investigation and prosecution of war crimes. UK-funded projects will give the Ukrainian authorities new skills in verifying and utilising open-source intelligence, including materials uploaded by mobile phones to social media, and train prosecutors in preparing strong and well-evidenced legal cases.

FCDO Minister of State, Lord Tariq Ahmad said:

The despicable atrocities we’ve seen in Ukraine have required the Ukrainian authorities to adapt to unprecedented challenges, necessitated by Russia’s illegal invasion of a sovereign democratic state.

Through our financial backing and legal expertise, the UK will continue to stand with Ukraine as they hold perpetrators to account and ensure that survivor-centred justice is served. Our support for our Ukrainian allies is unwavering.

Alongside support for war crimes investigations, the government has also allocated over £200,000 to expand the OPORA War Crimes Documentation Centre in Poland, which documents witness testimonies from Ukrainians who have been forced to flee the war. This funding is a key component of the new Trilateral Partnership on War Crimes Documentation, involving the UK, Poland, and Ukraine, which seeks to hold members of the Russian state and military accountable for their actions.

It follows Security Minister Tom Tugendhat’s visit to the centre in early 2023. During this visit, the minister met Ms. Olga Aivazovska, Chair of OPORA, and was briefed on the centre’s work to collect preliminary testimony from Ukrainian refugees who were witnesses of war crimes conducted in Ukraine.

Operated by Ukrainian staff, the non-governmental organisation OPORA provides a professional service, building trust within the diaspora left deeply affected by the conflict. In the past year, over a thousand Ukrainians have contributed their testimonies to the centre.

UK Government Security Minister, Tom Tugendhat said:

When I visited the OPORA War Crimes Documentation Centre, I heard first-hand about the horrendous crimes committed by members of the Russian military in Ukraine.

It brought home to me not only the horrors of this war but also the importance of ensuring those responsible face the full consequences of their actions when this shameful war comes to an end.

By ensuring the war crimes committed against the Ukrainian people are properly documented we can help ensure that those responsible are held to account for their barbarity and begin to offer some sense of redress for its victims.

Chair of OPORA, Olga Aivazovska said:

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.

According to OPORA’s sociological research conducted in Ukraine, 16% of citizens have witnessed war crimes, and 51% believe victory and peace without justice are impossible. That is why our work, together with the UK and the law enforcement bodies of Poland and Ukraine, helps the witnesses staying in Poland achieve justice.

We believe that every victim who is now safe should be informed what war crimes and crimes against humanity are, what legal actions are possible in this case, and what is the role of a witness in the justice process.

We help everyone get psychological and legal help as much as possible. We are grateful for the trust of the UK and Security Minister Tom Tugendhat, who have offered their help, and we are all committed to the end-result for the sake of justice.

Today’s announcement builds upon a range of existing UK-backed initiatives designed to support accountability efforts in Ukraine and to strengthen the national response to conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV).

To date, UK support has enabled hundreds of police officers, investigators, prosecutors and judges to work more confidently and effectively on complex investigations and forensic responses, improving the quality of their evidence-gathering and judgements and strengthening survivor-centred practices.

Over 200 civil society representatives have also received training in psychosocial and legal support for CRSV survivors, while over 30,000 forensic medical kits have been supplied to Police Officers for CRSV cases. Vital expertise from the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative Team of Experts has supported the development of a Ukrainian national CRSV Action Plan.

Alongside funding for Ukraine’s domestic investigations, the UK is supporting the work of the International Criminal Court (ICC), in Ukraine and across the world, including through an additional £2 million of funding announced to help improve their capacity and capability to conduct investigations.

Following Ukraine’s invitation, the UK is participating in the Core Group shaping thinking on how to ensure criminal accountability for Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. This includes exploring options for a new ‘internationalised’ tribunal – a specialised court integrated into Ukraine’s national justice system with international elements.

In November, the UK, alongside the US and EU, launched the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) Multi-National Fund. This fund will allow more international partners to provide funding for Ukraine’s domestic accountability efforts through the ACA, enhancing international support for the investigation and prosecution of war crimes in Ukraine.

Background

• read more information about OPORA on the OPORA website
• the UK was a founding member of the Atrocity Crimes Advisory Group (ACA) in May 2022, joint with the US and the EU, and previously pledged £2.5 million in July 2022 to support Ukrainian prosecutions and investigations in coordination with this group. This latest announcement of £3.7 million will also be coordinated with the ACA and its implementing partners

The UK’s funding so far has enabled:

• 153 judges and 36 prosecutors to receive training in forming war crimes judgements
• more than 150 regional prosecutors and investigators to be trained to ensure that robust, evidenced war crimes cases can be brought to trial
• 78 members of the National Police of Ukraine to be trained in forensic response
• the deployment of Mobile Justice Teams 14 times to sites of alleged war crimes to aid the collection of evidence
• 227 representatives of civil society organisations to be trained in psychosocial and legal support for survivors of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV)
• police officers to receive 30,000 forensic testing kits for gender-based violence and CRSV cases
• the appointment and deployment of former ICC judge Sir Howard Morrison KC as independent adviser to the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine
• a member of the Preventing Sexual Violence in Conflict Initiative (PSVI) Team of Experts to support the Ukrainian Office of the Prosecutor General to develop their standards and procedures for investigating and prosecuting cases of CRSV in Ukraine
• in addition, the UK continues to support the work of the ICC and its independent investigation into the situation in Ukraine, welcoming the coordination of investigations, as seen by the opening of an ICC field office in Kyiv in September