Our partners, Ukrainian journalists and activists documenting Russia’s war crimes, visited Prague for two events with students and the public at the close of 2022.

In late November, the Prague Civil Society Centre and Charles University’s Department of East European Studies held a discussion with those leading the effort to document war crimes in Ukraine.  

Speakers included Sasha Romantsova, Executive Director of the Centre for Civil Liberties (2022 Nobel Peace prize winners), Daryna Pidhorna and Kseniia Korniienko from the Regional Centre for Human Rights, and Natalia Okhotnikova from Human Rights Centre ZMINA. The talk was moderated by Tomáš Brolík, Deputy Editor with Respekt magazine, the leading Czech current affairs magazine.

Participants discussed how evidence of Russian war crimes is collected, disturbing developments like the abduction of Ukrainian children from temporarily occupied territories for adoption in Russia, what international legal mechanisms and support are necessary for justice to be served, what challenges are faced by those documenting crimes.

In early December, Prague Civil Society Centre and Charles University student club Studenti IKSŽ held a discussion with Ukrainian journalists. Speakers included Detector Media Director Galina Petrenko, a journalist and media expert covering topics such as disinformation and online piracy, and Maryna Smahina, a senior editor at Rubryka, an all-Ukrainian independent online publication. Maryna focuses on Solutions Journalism. The talk was moderated by Czech journalist Kateřina Etrychová.

Students and guests discussed how Ukrainian media has adapted to the war conditions, how Russian disinformation targeting Ukrainians has changed, and how to report on temporarily occupied territories and counter Russian propaganda.

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