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Automatically translated version. May contain inaccuracies compared to the original.
Since the start of the full-scale invasion, over 250 thousand war crimes have been registered. However, in our Criminal Code there is still no clear list of them in the sense of international criminal law. Ukraine ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in August 2024 of that year.
In connection with this, the Criminal Code of Ukraine was supplemented with provisions on crimes against humanity and the responsibility of military commanders. However, the norm on war crimes was clarified minimally, and the content of the article on the crime of aggression did not undergo any changes, notes MIPLL.
Therefore, in January 2025 of the Office of the Prosecutor General created an interagency working group that prepared a draft law for coordination of national legislation with the Rome Statute of the ICC. The Media Initiative for Human Rights participated in the work of this group. Working together were specialists from the Office of the Prosecutor General, state bodies, international and Ukrainian experts, and representatives of civil society. In March 2026 the document was sent to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine, and 7 September it was registered.
What is the purpose of a catalog of war crimes
Stanislav Petrenko, head of the Department of Crimes Committed in Armed Conflict at the Office of the Prosecutor General, explains: most war crimes today are classified as “other violations of the laws and customs of war.” Therefore, investigators and prosecutors have to interpret Article 438 of the Criminal Code through the prism of international law.
— The list of crimes in Article 438 of the Criminal Code has no counterpart in modern international criminal law. This law, like the practice of the European Court of Human Rights, clearly separates torture, inhumane treatment, intentional harm to health, etc. But the question is whether we can increase the effectiveness of prosecuting war crimes if the law is clearer?
The introduction of the catalog will provide a higher-quality justification for notices of suspicion and convictions, bring Ukrainian practice closer to international standards, and form more modern approaches to investigating and countering war crimes.
For investigators, he adds, the catalog will be a tool to help more accurately determine exactly which crime was committed. Currently, for example, information can be entered into the registry about “other violations of the laws and customs of war.” At the same time, such wording covers various actions—from deportation or forced displacement to violations of the right to a fair trial. The catalog’s availability is expected to change this approach.
— After all, no one would think to merge, within a single article, such different crimes as murder, robbery, theft, intentional bodily harm, or sexual violence, — notes Petrenko.
Andriy Yakovlev, a lawyer and MIPL expert on international humanitarian law, listed among the authors of the draft law, agrees: due to the absence of a clear list of acts in the article, crimes such as illegal deprivation of liberty, sexual violence related to the conflict, and intentional attacks on civilians do not receive independent qualification.
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