Justice Beyond Political Deals: Documentation of War Crimes Continues in Ukraine
(KYIV) – As Ukraine endures its fourth year of full-scale invasion, the civilian population faces a humanitarian crisis compounded by a sophisticated Russian information warfare campaign. In the capital and across the country, citizens are grappling with extreme winter conditions, with temperatures dropping to -25°C. The Russian dictator’s targeted destruction of energy infrastructure has left thousands of buildings without power, forcing residents to rely on flashlights and generators for survival.
Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and head of the Centre for Civil Liberties, warned that the current period of negotiations has coincided with the deadliest year for civilians. UN estimates indicate that casualties in 2025 rose by 31% compared to the previous year. Matviichuk, who co-created the Tribunal for Putin, stressed that justice must remain an independent track from any political peace settlement. She noted that even if a peace deal were to include an amnesty clause, the International Criminal Court (ICC) would not withdraw arrest warrants against the Russian dictator or stop its investigations into documented atrocities in Bucha and Borodianka.
The Kremlin’s hybrid warfare strategy increasingly weaponises social frustration within Ukraine. Reports indicate that Russian influence operations are exploiting local corruption scandals, such as the “Midnichgate” energy bribery case involving approximately ₴3.7 billion ($100 million), to incite anti-Semitic sentiment and civil unrest. These narratives aim to turn civilians against the state by baselessly blaming the government for blackouts caused by Russian missiles.
Dr Yehor Brailian of Detector Media highlighted that these information operations extend deep into Europe. In Poland, the Kremlin manipulates historical grievances, while in the United Kingdom, it attempts to link support for Ukraine to domestic migration concerns. Brailian noted that the Russian dictator’s intelligence services integrate these narratives into a broader military strategy designed to induce “refugee fatigue” and discourage Western military aid.
Despite the sceptical outlook regarding future US diplomatic involvement under the Trump administration, Ukrainian human rights defenders continue to archive tens of thousands of war crime episodes. These records are intended to break a decades-long cycle of Russian impunity that has spanned conflicts in Chechnya, Georgia, and Syria.
For Ukrainians, war is not a headline but daily reality: blackouts, freezing temperatures, and constant attacks. Alongside missiles, Russia is waging another war – an information war designed to exhaust societies and redefine what “peace” really means.
In this episode of Anatomy of Disinformation, Oleksandra Matviichuk, Nobel Peace Prize laureate and Chairwoman of the Center for Civil Liberties, explains how Russian war crimes are documented and systematically denied. As a human rights lawyer and co-creator of the Tribunal for Putin, she shows why justice and truth must remain separate from political peace deals.
A special report reveals how blackouts, corruption narratives, and social frustration are weaponized inside Ukraine to turn civilians against their own state.
With Dr. Yehor Brailian, historian, journalist, and analyst at Detector Media, we break down how Russian disinformation adapts its narratives for different countries: from exploiting refugee fatigue to manipulating history and peace rhetoric across Europe.
Because peace talks don’t happen in a vacuum. They are shaped by narratives.
🔴 Watch our 24/7 livestream – https://youtube.com/live/m4mVcUReR6Y
Bringing you all the latest daily news and updates, TVP World is Poland’s first English-language channel where you can find world news as seen from the Polish perspective and the latest news from the CEE region. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram.
