The Crimes in Ukraine are Difficult to Investigate Because they Happened Under Occupation







I thought You might want to read about what is going on there as the local media sees it. But gotta tell you I got nauseous with that statement.

"These crimes are difficult to investigate because all of them happened under occupation."

Dear Kyiv Independent readers, 


Since the start of the full-scale invasion, the Russian military has killed more than 500 Ukrainian children, dozens of which were shot at close range, with small arms. Our War Crimes Investigative Unit has spent the past months investigating these murders, showing the systemic nature of child killings. 


The second documentary from the Kyiv Independent’s War Crimes Investigative Unit “Bullet Holes” – which focuses on three Ukrainian children, all killed by Russian military gunfire – will be released next week. 

“The Russian army has committed countless atrocities in Ukraine, but even among them child murders stand out,” said Danylo Mokryk, the lead investigative journalist on this documentary. 


“This absolute red line, gunning down a kid, has been crossed by Russians in Ukraine dozens of times.” 


The documentary sheds light on the tragic stories of three children, killed intentionally by the Russian military on occupied territory in 2022: 10-year-old Katya Vinarska in Kharkiv Oblast in February, 12-year-old Vlad Magdyk in Kyiv Oblast in March, and 15-year-old Mykhailo Ustyanivskyi in Kherson Oblast in April.

To tell these stories, journalists had to interview the parents and the relatives of the murdered children, as well as those who witnessed the killings themselves. 


They also traveled thousands of kilometers across Ukraine, including to the village of Havrylivka, where Mykhailo Ustyanivskyi was killed – a village that has remained under constant shelling from Russian forces, even after its liberation in fall 2022. 


“These crimes are difficult to investigate,” Mokryk said. “Objectively, because all of them happened under occupation, which obfuscates the circumstances and the evidence. And subjectively, because they are emotionally hard to cope with. Even interviewing the parents is a process that cuts both ways: painful for the parents and hard for the journalist.” 


Despite the difficulties, our War Crimes Investigative Unit was able to not only document the general circumstances of these killings, but additional details proving the intentional nature of these crimes. In one case, our journalists were able to identify the individuals directly responsible for the murder of a child. 


“These crimes are necessary to talk about as widely as possible,” Mokryk said. “They are necessary to investigate. Each of these cases demands justice and accountability. That’s why we made our “Bullet Holes” documentary.”

We want to thank you for keeping your attention on Ukraine when it matters the most. It’s thanks to readers like you that there is an awareness of Russia’s war crimes. “Bullet Holes” will be released on our YouTube channel on Sept. 13. We encourage you to share this with your friends and family. 


If you appreciate our work or have found value in the knowledge you’ve gained from our investigations, then please consider supporting our reporting through a one-time donation or monthly membership. 


Thanks to our readers, Danylo and the War Crimes Investigations Unit can shed light on the systemic nature of Russian war crimes.


Thank you for standing with us,


The Kyiv Independent team

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