Ukraine proposes splitting war crimes into distinct types and expanding the list

A draft law published in Ukraine would break down the war crimes for which Russian servicemen are tried in Ukrainian courts. The problem was noted by monitors of the Media Initiative for Human Rights, a Ukrainian organisation that observes court proceedings: very different acts currently fall under one shared provision, "violations of the laws and customs of war", which, they say, distorts the picture of the scale and structure of the crimes. The author, organisation journalist Alina Kondratenko, wrote the text as an opinion column.

Different cases, one label

She cites several cases. Russian soldier Dmytro Kalinovych was convicted in absentia and sentenced to ten years for shooting a pensioner in the village of Kozarovychi, Kyiv region, in March 2022. Russian judge Serhiy Obraztsov received ten years in absentia for sentencing Vladyslav Plakhotnik, a captured Azov brigade serviceman, in Russia. Russian Arbi Imerzaiev was found guilty of looting during the occupation of the Kyiv region, and six servicemen were sentenced for seizing the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Enerhodar. In statistics, all of them appear as "other violations of the laws and customs of war".

What is proposed

Ukrainian law enforcement has registered more than 250,000 war crimes, and over 600 cases are already in court. Because Ukraine has ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, a working group was set up in 2025 under the Prosecutor General's Office, including the Media Initiative. The draft law was posted on the Verkhovna Rada's website in September.

It would split Article 438 into five groups: crimes against the person, against property, involving prohibited methods of warfare, involving prohibited means of warfare, and against cultural property. The list would add, for example, sexual slavery, deportation, hostage-taking and the use of "human shields". The list of crimes against cultural heritage would also grow, and Article 437 on the crime of aggression would be amended.

The draft would also recognise aggression, war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity as offences even if committed before the relevant provisions existed, provided international law already treated them as crimes. The article on crimes against humanity only took effect in October 2025. The author stresses the changes would not soften punishments or reopen existing verdicts.