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"We Must Ensure Accountability for War Crimes": Highlights from the 17th Kyiv Security Forum

News 09 May 2025
"We Must Ensure Accountability for War Crimes": Highlights from the 17th Kyiv Security Forum

This year, INDEX became a partner of the 17th annual Kyiv Security Forum titled “UA: Let’s Unite Again to Defeat the Global Aggressor.”

The Forum took place on May 8–9 in the capital of Ukraine. Founded by Arseniy Yatsenyuk’s Open Ukraine Foundation, the Kyiv Security Forum is the country’s leading platform for discussing issues of war and peace, as well as national and global security.

During the event, Sasha Dovzhyk, writer and director of the Institute for Documentation and Exchange, presented Victoria Amelina's book Looking at Women Looking at War.

Ukrainian writer and human rights defender Victoria Amelina was killed in a Russian missile strike in 2023. For many years, she documented Russian war crimes, and this experience became the basis of her book published posthumously in 2025.

“We must ensure accountability for war crimes. This is the cause Victoria fought for — and gave her life for,” said Charlotte Higgins, chief culture writer at The Guardian.

In addition, in cooperation with the Institute for Documentation and Exchange, a panel was held on justice and holding Russia accountable for crimes committed against the Ukrainian people. The conversation featured human rights defenders, documentarians and witnesses to Russian atrocities.

“I realized that if Russia wins and takes over Ukraine, all the achievements we’ve made in the field of human rights… all of that will be completely destroyed,” said Maksym Butkevych, philosopher, war veteran and human rights activist, during the panel.

“I believe that together with Ukraine, we are now living through a transformative moment in European history. As the Swedish minister said: We will either stabilize Europe in the East, including Ukraine, or face destabilization from the East,” noted Fredrik Löjdquist, director of the Stockholm Centre for Eastern European Studies, during one of the discussions.

Löjdquist also added that Russia is not invincible. This is merely a narrative Moscow pushes into the minds of politicians today, he said. Ukraine, meanwhile, has been resisting this monster for more than three and a half years.

“Europe needs a defense union that can withstand aggressive policies from both the U.S. administration and Russia,” said Radan Kanev, Member of the European Parliament (Bulgaria).

Forum partners: NATO, Atlantic Council, Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Center for European Policy Analysis (CEPA), INDEX, Impact

Watch the recordings:

Media partners: Espreso, Censor.NET, NV, The Cipher Brief, Gazeta.ua, Interfax-Ukraine, Glavcom, Defence Express, Den (Day), Ground Media, Media Center Ukraine, Gordon, TVA, Ukraine World, Ukrainian Crisis Media Center.

Official hashtags: #KSF #KSF2025