On June 9, the Consulate General of Ukraine in San Francisco organized a meeting of the Ukrainian community of California with the Ukrainian delegation within the framework of the US Congressional Open World program. The delegation members discussed the issues of recording war crimes, technical and legal support for investigations and judicial proceedings, and exchanged ideas for cooperation and collaboration. Maryna Bondarenko, judge-speaker of the Darnytskyi District Court of Kyiv, answered the questions of the correspondent of the newspaper “Hromada” Oleh Kernytskyy.
 

1. What was the main purpose of your delegation's visit?

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Our delegation’s visit was within the framework of the Open World project, funded by the US Congress. However, each of the delegates in our group is connected to the topic of war crimes. Communication on this topic by representatives of all branches of Ukrainian government, as in our group, is necessary.
Yes, war crimes are one of the types of international crimes, which also include genocide, the crime of aggression and crimes against humanity. And it is this type of international crimes as war crimes that have been committed in the largest number since the beginning of the war in 2014.
But international crimes and bringing those responsible for their commission are not an issue that concerns Ukraine alone, because this is not an internal conflict. And it is not even an issue of one part of the world – Europe.
If in the modern world any state considers itself a civilized one, then it is no longer possible to remain aloof from such a scale of international crimes committed in war, which one of the largest countries in the world began with aggressive and genocidal encroachments.
Crimes are being committed as a result of the initiated crime of aggression by another state – the Russian Federation, since February 20, 2014 and to this day. They are being committed even now, while this conversation is ongoing…
It was extremely important to convey the position that international crimes do not see state borders, war criminals were already detained on the border with the USA after the start of the full-scale invasion. In addition, unlearned lessons of history can have irreparable consequences for millions of people. And here too, a parallel could be drawn with the Second World War, which began somewhere in Europe…across the ocean…
A person is the highest value, so it is advisable to take steps in time to preserve human life in order to stop the continuous evil raging on the planet, than in the future, only to express sincere regret over the death of millions…
 

2. How can Ukrainian refugees currently residing in the US who have witnessed Russian war crimes report them or give testimony?
In this matter, it is important to note that victims of crimes and witnesses should not remain silent. This is extremely important, given the various circumstances. Yes, the Ukrainian investigation has a certain, so to speak, picture of the crimes committed in Ukraine. None of the victims and witnesses may even imagine how the information they reported can become decisive, even when investigating other crimes. At the same time, for a person telling a story, even if it is so difficult and tragic, the result may also be a certain healing.
The following information is publicly available on the ways to report information about war crimes.
You can report a war crime through several channels: the official website warcrimes.gov.ua, the chat bot @russian_war_tribunal_bot, the e-mail tribunal.2022.02.24@gmail.com.ua, as well as through the "Kyiv Digital" application in the "Citizens' Testimonies" section. It is also worth contacting law enforcement agencies, such as the National Police (102) or the Prosecutor General's Office.
More details on how to report:
- warcrimes.gov.ua:
This website is the only state hub for collecting evidence of war crimes. You can fill out a form, upload photo/video evidence, and provide detailed information about the crime. 
- Chatbot @russian_war_tribunal_bot:
Created to collect evidence of war crimes, in particular against civilians and prisoners of war.
- Email tribunal.2022.02.24@gmail.com.ua:
Specifically for collecting information about crimes committed by Russian military personnel. 
- Chatbot in the Kyiv Digital app:
The “Citizen Testimony” section is designed to collect information about war crimes.
- National Police (102):
You can call this number to report a crime and get help. 
- Office of the Prosecutor General:
Contact the Office to report a crime and receive support, especially if it concerns crimes committed in temporarily occupied territories. 
- State Service for Special Communications and Information Protection of Ukraine:
Provides information on the possibility of submitting evidence via the Tribunal.ua chatbot. 
- International Criminal Court:
Evidence of war crimes can be sent to the Chief Prosecutor by email at otp.informationdesk@icc-cpi.int. 
Important information to include in your report:
- The exact location and time of the crime.
- The circumstances of the crime and its consequences.
- Information about the victims, witnesses, and, if possible, the perpetrators.
- Details about the weapons, equipment, and other items used.
- Photo or video evidence, if available.
The more detailed the information about the war crime is, the more likely it is to be used in court proceedings.
 

3. Do you cooperate with Ukrainian or international human rights organizations? If so, which ones? 
In Ukraine, the activities of such a human rights organization as the Ukrainian Helsinki Union for Human Rights are widespread.
The mission of the organization is defined as follows:
The Ukrainian Helsinki Union promotes the development of a humane society based on respect for human life, dignity, and harmonious relations between man, the state, and nature by creating a platform for cooperation between members of the Union and other participants in the human rights movement.
The history of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union, from the Union's official website:
The Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union (UHHRU) is the largest association of human rights organizations in Ukraine.
The Union brings together 26 non-governmental human rights organizations. The goal of the UHHRU is to protect human rights.
The UHHRU considers itself part of the Helsinki movement and a continuation of the traditions and activities of the Ukrainian Helsinki Group for the Promotion of the Implementation of the Helsinki Accords (UHG).
On August 1, 1975, the governments of 35 European and North American countries, including the USSR, signed the Helsinki Accords, which were intended to consolidate new relations in Europe and ensure the implementation of high principles of democracy and human rights in each of them. Realizing that this was practically impossible under Soviet Ukraine, on November 9, 1976, a group of human rights activists came together to promote the implementation of the Helsinki Accords. The UHG was created with the following members: Oles Berdnyk – science fiction writer, Petro Hryhorenko (he became the group's representative in Moscow), Levko Lukyanenko, Oksana Meshko, Nina Strokataya, Ivan Kandyba, Oleksiy Tykhyi, Mykola Rudenko (head of the group), Myroslav Marynovych, and Mykola Matusevych.
The UHG became the largest human rights organization in the republic. Among its 36 members were such well-known dissidents as Nadiya Svitlychna, Vyacheslav Chornovil, Vasyl Stus, Vasyl Ovsiyenko, Mykola Horbal, and others. Despite constant repression, the UHG did not cease to exist. From 1987, when legal activity gradually became more possible, almost all members of the UHG who returned from the camps became involved in political activity. When Ukraine became independent, the human rights movement had to be created from scratch.
In 2002, on the initiative of the Kharkiv Human Rights Group, the Council of Ukrainian Human Rights Organizations (RUPOR) was created. Volodymyr Yavorskyi became the executive director of the Council. In 2002-2004, RUPOR grew into one of the strongest human rights organizations in Ukraine.
On April 1, 2004, after the First Forum of Human Rights Organizations “Monitoring Human Rights in Elections,” organized by RUPOR, the founding meeting of the All-Ukrainian Association of Human Rights Organizations “Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union” took place. A new stage in the joint work of many human rights organizations began. During its first eight years, the UHHRU became the most influential human rights organization in Ukraine and remains so to this day.
The projects of this union can be found at this link: https://www.helsinki.org.ua.
 

4. What will the trial of Russian criminals look like? Will it be similar to the Nuremberg trials?
Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, more parallels have been drawn with the events that took place during World War II, and, perhaps, not in vain, given the sharp increase in the scale of international crimes committed on the territory of Ukraine and against Ukrainians.
And I think that such parallels will also be drawn with regard to the Special Tribunal for Russian Aggression against Ukraine.
The tribunal has already been effectively established, and this is an unprecedented event, because the tribunal was established during the ongoing war, and few people believed in its creation. There were also plenty of skeptical considerations. The creation of the tribunal became possible as a result of an agreement concluded between Ukraine and the Council of Europe, with the participation of 44 states of the world, including the USA.
The tribunal will be international in composition (judges and prosecutors), but with a Ukrainian component. The tribunal will have temporal boundaries, that is, it will be able to consider crimes committed up to 2022. It will also be possible to apply the procedure in absentia (conviction of a person in his absence). According to the subject matter jurisdiction, the tribunal will consider only one type of international crime – the crime of aggression committed by the top authorities of the aggressor state.
The tribunal is due to begin work in 2026 and; I am sure that its work will attract the attention of the entire international community.


5. Can the Ukrainian diaspora in the USA provide you with any assistance? 
The war affects all spheres of society. These are not only events related to the direct conduct of hostilities.
Moreover, Ukraine is exclusively a victim in this war, and Ukrainians did not plan it or start it. Therefore, we appreciate any support that we receive and that can be provided to us in such dark times that we are currently experiencing.