Today, we solemnly mark one year of the unprecedented escalation of the aggression committed against Ukraine. On 24 February 2022, the Russian Federation (supported by Belarus) initiated a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, marking a dramatic escalation of the conflict that began in 2014. This brutal aggression continues to cause immense human suffering: thousands of Ukrainian civilians have been killed and wounded, entire cities have been reduced to rubble. The effects of the Russian government’s actions are felt beyond Ukraine – they have thrown the international order into a state of insecurity.
As we commemorate one year of the dramatic escalation, we reiterate our strong condemnation of Russia’s continued aggression against Ukraine and our support for justice and accountability for crimes committed in the course of the war.
In the aftermath of the invasion of 24 February 2022, national, regional and international courts have mobilized at an unprecedented speed. War crimes trials are taking place across Ukraine, as the war still rages. The Russian invasion has also triggered a significant, coordinated international legal action. All available tools of international criminal justice are being deployed to ensure that perpetrators of alleged war crimes and serious human rights violations committed in the course of war are prosecuted, whether through national judicial proceedings or through international mechanisms.
CEHRI is actively engaged in this legal battle. We are currently representing the interests of Ukrainian victims of grave violations of international humanitarian law, together with the Clooney Foundation for Justice. We are preparing complaints to be submitted to national courts. The legal and psychosocial support we provide to Ukrainian survivors will not waver.