Kyiv's first war crimes trial and a day of diplomacy
A look back at 13 May 2022, when Ukraine opened its first war crimes trial of the invasion as fighting and diplomacy continued elsewhere.
What does accountability look like in the middle of a war? On 13 May 2022, Ukraine offered an early answer: it held its first trial for war crimes committed during the Russian invasion. The defendant was a Russian soldier accused of shooting an unarmed civilian in March.
The case was a single prosecution, but it carried weight beyond the courtroom. It showed Ukrainian institutions continuing to function while fighting went on across the country, and it set a procedural marker for the many allegations that were to follow.
The front line that week
The trial opened against a backdrop of continuing combat. On 12 May 2022, Ukrainian forces repelled an attempted Russian crossing of the Donets river, west of Sievierodonetsk in Luhansk Oblast. At least one Russian battalion tactical group was reportedly destroyed, along with the pontoon bridge used in the crossing.
In the north-east, Ukrainian forces had recaptured several settlements north of Kharkiv by 11 May, driving Russian troops to less than a dozen miles from the Russian border.
Russian strikes continued as well. On 12 May, the Russian Air Force launched around a dozen missiles at Kremenchuk in Poltava Oblast, including four at the Kremenchuk Oil Refinery. On 11 May, Russian forces kept firing missiles at the port city of Odesa, in an apparent attempt to cut supplies to the city.
Diplomacy and pressure beyond Ukraine
The same day brought a notable diplomatic contact. U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin held talks with Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu, the first meeting between the two since the start of the invasion.
Northern Europe was also in focus. On 12 May, the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs threatened retaliatory steps against Finland, including of a military-technical nature, if the country joined NATO. On 13 May, RAO Nordic, a subsidiary of Russian energy company Inter RAO, announced it would suspend electricity deliveries to Finland, saying it had not been paid for earlier deliveries. The suspension came as Russia threatened retaliation over a possible Finnish NATO bid.
In sport, it was reported on 12 May that tennis players from Russia and Belarus would be allowed to compete at the upcoming French Open as neutral athletes, though those who spoke in support of Russian President Vladimir Putin would face sanctions.
Why the trial stood out
Against missiles, river crossings and diplomatic warnings, a courtroom proceeding against one soldier was modest in scale. Yet it was the one event of the day that placed the conduct of the war before a judicial process. The charge, the shooting of an unarmed civilian, was specific and concrete, and the proceeding marked the start of Ukraine's effort to try war crimes cases in its own courts.
Looking back, 13 May 2022 shows a country fighting on several fronts at once: on the battlefield, in diplomacy and in the legal arena.
