War crimes of the Russian Federation against Ukraine: the Office of the Prosecutor General spoke about the most common ones

As of May, more than 160,000 war crimes of Russia against Ukraine have been officially documented. Yuriy Belousov, Head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General's Office, told UNN about the most common crimes of the occupiers against Ukrainians. 

Definition and classification of war crimes

War crimes are serious violations of international humanitarian law, laws and customs of war committed during a war. War crimes entail criminal liability in international and Ukrainian courts, without a statute of limitations. 

Types of war crimes:

• injury or killing of a civilian;
• torture and rape;
• illegal detention of a civilian;
• kidnapping and forced deportation of people;
• non-compliance with the rules of treatment of prisoners of war;
• looting;
• use of military equipment in residential areas;
• violence against medical personnel;
• refusal or denial of access to medical care;
• use of civilians to cover up the military (human shields);
• forcing citizens to participate in military actions against their own state;
• damage or destruction of civilian infrastructure;
• destruction of cultural monuments, works of art, religious objects, educational institutions;
• use of the symbols of the Red Cross or the uniforms of the Armed Forces of Ukraine for camouflage;
• use of poisonous substances;
• destruction of populated areas that has no military necessity;
• intentional attack on personnel, transport, equipment related to the provision of humanitarian assistance.

Main articles of the Criminal Code of Ukraine that regulate liability for war crimes

Art. 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine is a violation of the laws and customs of war. It has two parts and contains seven forms of crime:

• cruel treatment of prisoners of war or the civilian population, expulsion of the civilian population for forced labor, looting of national values in the occupied territory, use of means of warfare prohibited by international law, other violations of the laws and customs of war provided for by international treaties, the consent to be bound by which is given by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, as well as issuing an order to commit such actions - shall be punished by imprisonment for a term of 8 to 12 years;

• the same acts, if they are combined with intentional murder - shall be punishable by imprisonment for a term of 10 to 15 years or life imprisonment.

Investigation of war crimes and verdicts

According to the Office of the Prosecutor General, as of May 2025, more than 160,000 war crimes have been officially documented.

At least 14,450 civilians have died and more than 30,000 have been injured. 

More than 850 suspects have been identified, more than 610 people have been charged and 161 have been convicted.

 The Office of the Prosecutor General emphasizes that Ukraine seeks to ensure comprehensive accountability of the Russian Federation for international crimes committed and to implement victim-oriented approaches.

This obligation corresponds to:

• Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court;

• EU Directive on the Rights of Victims (2012/29/€C);

• European Convention on Human Rights.

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Yuriy Belousov, Head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict of the Prosecutor General's Office, said during the United for Justice. United for Survivors conference that Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (war crimes) needs to be detailed and divided into specific elements of crimes.

It will definitely be easier for our investigators and prosecutors to work having before their eyes a specific element of a crime, which is prescribed in the Criminal Code, and therefore now (the Interdepartmental Working Group - ed.) group, which was created in the OGP, is developing (this is - ed.) taking into account the needs of the investigation and the needs of the prosecutor's office, based on the real experience of investigating this category. The scope is very large, but I hope that the first draft will be ready in the near future

Belousov clarified to the UNN journalist that it would be more practical and easier for the investigator when he opens and sees  a specific war crime, a specific article number. Later, scientific comments and various clarifications will appear, and investigators  and prosecutors will have a wider range. 

I find it difficult to say exactly how many there will be in the list now, we are working on it now. There are crimes or violations that are not even in the Rome Statute, but which we potentially consider as war crimes. For example, forced passportization. We understand that the Russians use it as a tool and from our point of view it can be qualified as a crime. Now  a group of experts is trying to clearly define this list. I hope that it will be finalized exactly this summer

The most common war crimes of Russians against Ukraine 

Belousov also told a UNN journalist about the war crimes that Russians most often commit against Ukraine.

"Most often, of course, it is shelling: attacks on civilian objects, missile attacks, drone attacks, artillery attacks, everything possible. This is number one. 

The second is cruel treatment, torture. This is very common in the occupied territories, very common, where people are held in Russian prisons or other places," Belousov said. 

Looting is also common.

Russians steal everything that is possible and impossible.  This is a list from the point of view of scale. Murders are also on the list of the most popular types of crimes among Russians

In addition, according to him, the list of the most common crimes includes sexual violence against absolutely all categories of Ukrainians. 

"Russians do not pay attention to whether it is a child, whether it is a boy or a girl," said the head of the Department for Combating Crimes Committed in the Context of Armed Conflict. 

Legislative initiatives on war crimes against children 

Iryna Suslova, Representative of the Commissioner for Children's Rights, emphasized that deportation and forced displacement of children is a war crime and this topic should be part of the concept of transitional justice. 

In April 2025, the Verkhovna Rada took a step towards supplementing the Criminal Code with separate provisions regarding war crimes against children. 

According to the draft law, it is about supplementing the Criminal Code with such clearly defined manifestations of war crimes against children as:

• deportation, illegal transfer;
• unjustified delay in the repatriation of children;
• recruitment and use of a child for military purposes.

Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada Olena Kondratyuk explained that each of these crimes against children violates the Geneva Conventions and additional protocols. They will be liable to imprisonment for a term of 8 to 12 years. 

According to her, there are still no separate provisions on this topic in the Criminal Code of Ukraine. Only Article 438 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine mentioned "other violations of the laws and customs of war".