The military personnel of the Armed Forces of Ukraine underwent several trainings on the study of the norms of international humanitarian law. Defenders were taught to properly handle prisoners and collect evidence of war crimes.

A pilot project on in-depth study of the rules of law was organized by representatives of the Geneva Center for Security Sector Management (DCAF) with the support of the UK Department of Foreign, Commonwealth and Development, together with the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine.

What exercises did the military

The experts organized 5 trainings, during which they trained 107 servicemen of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. The main goal was to improve the skills of the military and deepen their knowledge of international humanitarian law.

Initially, sergeants were involved in the exercises – leaders for subordinates and assistants to the commander. It is they who most often find themselves in situations where it is necessary to strictly observe these norms.

The basis of the course was formed by several blocks:

• principles and sources of international humanitarian law;
• treatment of prisoners;
• interacting with civilians;
• means and methods of warfare;
• responsibility for violating the norms of international humanitarian law and collecting evidence of war crimes,
• the importance of interacting with the media and media literacy.

The classes were conducted by experts from the League of Officers public organization, including the head of the organization, retired colonel Vladimir Lukichev, captain 1st rank of the reserve Andrei Korenko, Yuri Karin, military expert, chief coordinator of the Information Resistance project, and Sergei Mokrenyuk, a well-known lawyer and human rights activist.

Also, representatives of the Ministry of Defense and the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine were invited to lectures for military personnel. On specific examples, the trainings were conducted by Major Inna Zavorotko, Doctor of Philosophy in International Law (representative of the Department of Legal Support of the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine) and Colonel Bogdan Senik, Head of the Public Relations Department of the Armed Forces of Ukraine.

How were the trainings / Photo of the General Staff:

Russian soldiers in captivity

• The Ukrainian military comply with all norms of international humanitarian law, taking Russians prisoner. The Ministry of Justice says that about 10,000 hryvnias a month are spent on the maintenance of one captive. If we consider the cost of food only, then this is about 3 thousand.
• Washington Post journalists recently gained access to one of the colonies where Russian occupiers are being held. They were able to see the conditions in which the invaders live, what they do in their free time and what they eat.
• Ukrainian Armed Forces say captives must be held to have an exchange fund with the enemy As much as Ukrainian defenders would like to avenge their mistreatment of their fellow soldiers, they still respect international humanitarian law.