Tulane Law alum in Ukrainian capital documenting atrocities

As he watches his nation suffering, Tulane Law alumnus Ivan Bondarchuk is desperately asking the university community to assist Ukraine in the form of information sharing and aid.

“Every day the attack (by Russia) is supported by massive missile fire and rocket launchers. While talking about ‘a special operation aimed for demilitarization of the country,’ Russian troops, in fact, destroy Ukrainian cities and villages, schools and houses with the sole political purpose to install control over the Ukrainian state and people,” wrote Bondarchuk (LLM ’18) in an email asking the law school community to help.

Bondarchuk received his LLM degree in environmental and energy law in 2018 from Tulane and now heads the energy practice at the LFC Law Group, a law firm in Kyiv.

Together with colleagues from the Ukrainian Bar Association, he is painstakingly documenting atrocities committed against Ukraine’s civilian population, in hopes of holding Russian President Vladimir Putin and his military accountable for atrocities. He provides regular updates on social media, especially to his friends outside of the country.

This week, the International Criminal Court and the United Nations Human Rights Council both announced they would open investigations into possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Ukraine.  

Russia launched an unprovoked attack on Ukraine on Feb. 24, and according to U.S. intelligence, is forging a campaign of terror on Ukrainian citizens, bombing residential areas, and attempting to remove the country’s democratically elected leaders to install a puppet government.

Bondarchuk and his colleagues have documented atrocities, he said, including the Russian military’s use of Ukrainian civilians as human shields, the destruction of a hospital in Kyiv, and civilian district shelling that has killed civilians, including children. So far, Ukrainian officials estimate as many as 2,000 civilians have died in the conflict.

Bondarchuk has asked legal experts at Tulane and around the world to assist his team in guiding efforts to ensure future accountability under international law.  He and his colleagues are running a legal aid hotline for those impacted by the war, are preparing claims against Russia for military crimes, among other international legal avenues.

He also offered additional ways to assist, including for those wishing to donate to the Ukrainian defense and relief efforts:

• Official account opened by National Bank of Ukraine for donations to Ukrainian defense (https://bank.gov.ua/en/about/support-the-armed-forces)
• Volunteers and charitable organizations such as “ARMYSOS” (https://armysos.com.ua/en/) or “СOME BACK ALIVE” (https://savelife.in.ua/en/donate/)

More than anything, he says Americans can help stop Russian disinformation by sharing accurate news about Russia’s military actions and atrocities.

Russia has been blocking independent news outlets and social media platforms in an effort to control what Russians see about the attack on Ukraine.

“Please share truthful news about what is happening with your family, friends and community,” he said.