Russian war crimes explained by Nobel-winning Ukrainian NGO - with Oleksandra Romantsova

Russia has committed over 160,000 war crimes in Ukraine, according to Ukraine's Prosecutor General's office. What kinds of crimes are most widespread in Russia’s invasion of Ukraine? Why is the Russian approach to war so heavily marked by cruelty? Why do Russian forces torture Ukrainian civilians and abduct Ukrainian children? *** Host: Volodymyr Yermolenko, a Ukrainian philosopher, editor-in-chief of UkraineWorld, and president of PEN Ukraine. Guest: Oleksandra Romantsova, a Ukrainian human rights activist and Executive Director of the Center for Civil Liberties — a Ukrainian NGO that was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022 Centre for Civil Liberties: https://ccl.org.ua/en/ *** Explaining Ukraine is produced by UkraineWorld, an English-language media project about Ukraine, run by Internews Ukraine. Listen on various platforms (apple, youtube, spotify, soundcloud, amazon etc): https://li.sten.to/explaining-ukraine *** SUPPORT US: You can support our work on Patreon: www.patreon.com/c/ukraineworld Your contributions are essential, as we rely heavily on crowdfunding. You can also help fund our volunteer trips to frontline areas in Ukraine, where we support both soldiers and civilians. Donations are welcome via PayPal: [email protected] *** CONTENTS: 00:00 — The war that started in 2014: a history of Russian war crimes. 03:00 — First steps of the occupiers: a blueprint for terror. 07:11 — Why Russia fails to understand Ukrainians: a crucial mistake. 11:54 — The myth of “honest” Russian courts and police 14:19 — How Russia kidnaps Ukrainian children 16:07 — How Russia changes Ukrainian demography and militarizes Ukrainian children 19:23 — Preparing teenagers for the Russian army 21:26 — Is there a place for justice in a Russian world? 23:48 — Why returning people and achieving justice is critical 26:06 — A new war crime: kidnapping civilians 28:40 — Why documenting war crimes is crucial 29:50 — How Russia destroys any law in the occupied territories 31:20 — Using captives as hostages and resources 33:28 — Russian torture chambers exist even in small villages 34:30 — Chaos strategy: Moscow tries to create “grey zones” near NATO borders 36:10 — Why Russia is fighting a war against Ukrainian civilians. 39:23 — Why Putin fears democracy 41:14 — Breaking Ukrainians through religious persecution 42:43 — Three levels of justice: punishment, victims’ rights and historical truth 44:36 — Why crimes must be recorded now 47:02 — Lessons from other countries: never wait until the war ends 49:16 — Solutions: universal jurisdiction and a special tribunal