National Police of Ukraine
The National Police of Ukraine has the largest number of personnel compared to other pre-trial investigation authorities. The total number of the NPU employees is just under 140,000 people[318]. This number is connected to the scope of tasks performed by the NPU, such as maintaining public safety and order. As a result, NPU branches are extensively distributed across the country, covering the level of regions, oblasts, cities, districts within cities, as well as interregional territorial bodies[319]. Among them, the number of police investigators before full-scale invasion was under 15 000 people, and after - 8 300.
Since 2014, the NPU has mainly worked with grave international crimes at the regional level despite their lack of direct jurisdiction. In order for the NPU to investigate the offences they classified them under provisions of ordinary crimes, for instance, 146 (kidnapping as opposed to enforced disappearance during armed conflict) 115 (murder as opposed to unlawful killing), 127 (torture), 260 (participation in the illegal armed group) all in connection with the armed conflict in eastern Ukraine. According to the territorial principle, this matter became the responsibility of the Main Department of the National Police in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, the Main Department of the National Police in Donetsk region, the Main Department of the National Police in Luhansk region, as well as their territorial units[320]. In the autumn of 2021, a dedicated department for organising investigations of crimes committed during the armed conflict was established within the Main Investigation Department of the NPU.
Following the full-scale invasion of Ukraine by the Russian Federation, the Main Investigation Department of the NPU faced the task of organising the work of the regional departments to ensure proper documentation of the consequences of the armed conflict in Ukraine[321]. A special group was set up at the level of the Main Investigation Department of the NPU under the coordination of the Department for Investigation of Crimes Committed in the Armed Conflict. This group, tasked with documenting the crimes of the Russian Federation and the Republic of Belarus on the territory of Ukraine, included staff from the Cyber Police Department, the Strategic Investigations Department, the Patrol Police Department, the Criminal Investigation Department, the Criminal Analysis Department, and the Department for the Protection of Interests of Society and the State of the NPU[322]. The group’s tasks include collecting and documenting evidence of grave international crimes not only for domestic criminal proceedings but also for international authorities, pre-trial investigations and searching for assets that belong to the Russian state[323].
Given that nearly every region has been affected to varying degrees by either direct hostilities or missile attacks, the issue of specialisation of police units in relation to offences committed in the context of the armed conflict has not been discussed. Nevertheless, in order to implement the decision of the coordination council of the law enforcement headed by the Prosecutor general, not only the territorial units at public prosecutor's offices were established, but corresponding units were created in twelve regional investigative departments of the police in areas most affected by the armed conflict: Kyiv, city of Kyiv, Chernihiv, Sumy, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk, Zaporizhzhia, Kherson, Dnipro, Mykolaiv, Odesa. A separate unit operates in the department that deals with Crimea. Investigators at the regional level are either involved in documenting and investigating alleged violations of the laws and customs of war directly on the territory of their own region or are seconded to other regions[324].
Following 24 February 2022, NPU investigators took over most of the workload of the SSU in documenting and investigating grave international crimes. Approximately 90 percent of the opened investigations into the allegations remain with the NPU, although according to the CPC of Ukraine they still lack the jurisdiction[325]. Upon agreement between the pre-trial investigation and prosecution authorities, NPU investigators investigate the following incidents under Article 438 of the CCU:
- premeditated unlawful killings,
- mass graves,
- sexual violence,
- ill-treatment of civilians,
- circumstances surrounding the operation of places of mass detention of civilians and their ill-treatment,
- missing persons in the occupied territories,
- unlawful deprivation of liberty,
- looting of property,
- attacks on civilian objects (other than those investigated by the SSU).
Based on this, the following challenges in their operations can be identified:
- Police remain the first to arrive at the scene — in addition to ensuring security on the ground, the investigative and operational units of the NPU found themselves having to inspect crime scenes, even when those incidents fell outside their jurisdiction[326]. It is the police that gather evidence at the sites of shelling and other consequences of the armed conflict[327]. In addition to promptly responding to offences, the NPU manages the 102 hotline where anyone can report an offence and wait for the arrival of an NPU patrol team;
- Criminal proceedings regarding the consequences of the armed conflict on the territory of Ukraine fall outside the jurisdiction of the NPU — The preliminary legal classification of events on the territory of Ukraine puts them into the category of crimes against the foundations of national security or crimes against peace, human security, and international law and order[328]. Crimes within these categories fall under the exclusive jurisdiction of the SSU. However, police investigators continue to document them and register relevant criminal proceedings;
- Investigating in the areas liberated from Russian control requires significant resources — As practice has shown, the scale of the territories liberated as a result of hostilities requires the simultaneous engagement of a significant number of investigators[329]. Given the risk of losing evidence at crime scenes, investigative teams work simultaneously in several locations[330]. Moreover, the specifics of the violations of the laws and customs of war requires the involvement of experts and specialists in various fields to collect samples and work with physical evidence[331]. At the same time, the liberated areas pose risks for personnel due to mining, which often limits the access of investigators and operatives to crime scenes[332];
- Investigators need special on the job training on implementation of international standards for documenting and investigating grave international crimes — Considering the significant number of NPU investigators in the investigation of grave international crimes and the specifics of such investigations, the demand for training in international humanitarian and criminal law remains very high. The shortcomings of national legislation force the NPU to devise practical solutions for handling electronic evidence, gathering information from witnesses' testimony, and analysing information about alleged perpetrators[333]. Moreover, despite the experience in investigating serious crimes, investigators must consider the specifics of international law when investigating grave international crimes so that the collected evidence is relevant not only for the domestic justice system, but also for international mechanisms;
- The workload of the NPU consists of not only conflict-related pre-trial investigation files but also general law enforcement duties — In addition to the challenges faced in investigating grave international crimes, the NPU must also carry out their regular duties and functions[334]. Specifically, the NPU handles general criminal offences that still take place during the armed conflict, as well as ensures law and order in areas under its jurisdiction[335]. As a result, the workload of the NPU increases several times over compared to other pre-trial investigation authorities, especially in the areas liberated from Russian control[336].
To accumulate its own experience in investigating core international crimes and to determine the general direction of development in this area, the National Police of Ukraine presented its own strategy for managing the investigation of international crimes committed in the context of armed conflict[337]. This document also emphasizes the identified challenges in the work of investigators. In addition to the above, the body itself also points to the negative impact of unhealthy competition between institutions (e.g., unwillingness to share information for the sake of a common result), imperfect coordination, interaction and prioritization in the investigation process. At the same time, the implementation of such initiatives and developments directly depends on the introduction of jurisdiction for police investigators to investigate core international crimes and relevant changes to the legislation.
