The National Interests Advocacy Network ANTS has officially addressed the Security Service of Ukraine and the Office of the Prosecutor General with a request regarding the status of the investigation into genocide crimes committed by the Russian Federation against the Ukrainian people.
The appeal emphasizes that the Verkhovna Rada recognized Russia’s actions as genocide against the Ukrainian people back in 2022, and a number of partner states — including Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Canada, the Czech Republic, and Ireland — have adopted similar political decisions.
The Prosecutor General’s Office and the SBU bear an important responsibility to take measures to properly document genocide facts and to initiate accountability for all those responsible. In 2022–2024, the Office of the Prosecutor General regularly informed the public about the recording of numerous facts of crimes committed by Russians bearing signs of genocide, and about the progress of gathering relevant evidence. Until 2025, international partners also actively assisted Ukrainian law enforcement. Unfortunately, for over a year now the process appears to have stalled, and the issue has fallen off the radar of Ukrainian authorities and media.
Ukrainian society still does not have full information on how criminal proceedings under Article 442 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine («Genocide») are progressing. According to data cited in the appeal, as of late 2025 only three criminal proceedings for genocide appeared in official statistics, with no public information available on their actual procedural status, suspicions, international cooperation, or the transfer of evidence to the International Criminal Court.
«We addressed the SBU and the Office of the Prosecutor General so that society receives truthful and complete information about the investigation of genocide crimes against the Ukrainian people. Ukrainians have the right to know how these cases are progressing, how cooperation with the International Criminal Court is taking place, and whether everything necessary is being done to punish the guilty. At the same time, this is also important in order to avoid unfounded accusations of inaction or concealment of information by state bodies,» emphasized Hanna Hopko, Chair of the Board of the ANTS Network.
The ANTS Network requests that society be provided with clear answers regarding the number of criminal proceedings opened in Ukraine for the crime of genocide, the stage of investigation in each of them, the existence and transfer of the evidence base to the International Criminal Court, the existence of a specialized group of prosecutors dealing specifically with genocide cases, as well as Ukraine’s international cooperation on extradition, search, and prosecution of individuals involved in these crimes.
Roman Son, an expert in international law and head of an international project on the study of Russian genocide, states: «The Russian Federation is carrying out a targeted, systematic state policy of genocide aimed at destroying Ukrainians as a distinct ethno-national group that is the source of statehood on Ukrainian land. Moscow seeks to eliminate Ukrainians as an obstacle to the realization of the misanthropic idea of the ‘Russian world,’ which denies the existence of Ukrainians and the Ukrainian state. The Russian genocide against Ukrainians is a war against humanity and humankind, and demands a decisive response from the world. We need recognition of the truth about the ongoing genocide in order to activate all available international legal mechanisms to counter Russian atrocities.»
The ANTS Network emphasizes: the issue of the genocide of Ukrainians is an element of historical justice, international pressure on Russia, and the building of an evidence base for a future tribunal. The world is increasingly recognizing the signs of genocide in the actions of the Russian Federation against the Ukrainian people — through mass killings of civilians, deportations of children, destruction of cities, and the creation of conditions incompatible with life. At the same time, Ukraine must demonstrate concrete results in investigating these crimes — properly documented cases, international coordination, transfer of evidence to the International Criminal Court, and real progress toward punishing those responsible.
Canadian analyst and Director of the International Centre for Ukrainian Studies “Priama Initsiatyva», Ariana Getz, notes: «Ukraine is confronting a false narrative that Russia’s aggression amounts to territorial claims and can be resolved through Ukrainian concessions on «a small piece of land». Too many Western decision-makers are unwilling to acknowledge the genocidal intent of Russia’s war of extermination in order to avoid international legal obligations to protect Ukrainians. It is easier for them to hide behind Trump’s ‘peace process’ than to take measures that would raise the risks of confrontation with Russia. It is therefore critically important to communicate in the language of facts with Western societies, where the topic of genocide is silenced in the media, in order to increase public pressure on political leaders.»
