Nataliya Gumenyuk

Nataliya Gumenyuk is a Ukrainian journalist, documentary filmmaker, and CEO & founder of the Public Interest Journalism Lab, as well as co-founder of The Reckoning Project. She is one of the leading voices documenting war crimes and pursuing international justice in the context of Russia’s war in Ukraine.In this episode, Gumenyuk explains why the war in Ukraine must be understood not just as a series of tragedies, but as deliberate crimes that demand accountability. Drawing on hundreds of survivor testimonies, she discusses the challenges of documenting war crimes, the limits of international institutions like the ICC, and why journalists and legal teams are increasingly turning to alternative jurisdictions to pursue justice.The conversation also explores the human dimension of war—what victims actually want, why truth and recognition matter as much as punishment, and how disinformation threatens to erase these crimes from global memory. Gumenyuk offers a sobering perspective on war fatigue, Western support, and why Ukrainians continue to fight—not out of choice, but necessity.Support the show