Financial Accountability and Reparations for Ukraine

Читати українською

REDRESS is working together with partners in Ukraine and around the world to explore potential legal routes for financial accountability and the delivery of reparations to victims affected by the conflict in Ukraine. 

Vast violations of international law, including international crimes, have been reported in the context of Russia’s occupation of Crimea in 2014, the conflict in Eastern Ukraine since 2014, and Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, which began on 24 February 2022. Victims cannot wait until the end of the invasion: urgent action is needed to  address the harms they have suffered and help them to rebuild their lives. Ukraine as a state, and victims of gross violations of human rights and serious violations of international humanitarian law have a right to reparations under international law.  

Our Project

What we do

Our Ukraine project builds upon our existing Sanctions and Asset Recovery projects, and cuts across three key areas:  

We work to: 

1. Investigate, litigate and advocate for viable financial accountability routes for victims of the war in Ukraine; 
2. Strengthen the capacity of civil society and other actors to submit sanctions submissions under the UK framework in relation to Russia’s aggression against Ukraine and assess the impact of sanctions; 
3. Raise awareness of the reparations landscape in Ukraine for international and national stakeholders, especially survivors, including CRSV survivors;  
4. Increase capacity of CSOs and survivors to engage in the reparations mechanisms available or being created; and  support the strengthening of reparation mechanisms through survivor-centred advocacy; 
5. Advocate for the repurposing of Russia-linked assets to finance survivor-centred reparation for victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine. 

How? 

• REDRESS has developed six Guidelines establishing a repurposing for reparation framework. The Guidelines support competent authorities to allocate a portion of repurposed funds to finance survivor-centred reparation for victims of Russia’s war in Ukraine. They examine many of the key considerations to financing reparation measures from Russia-linked assets in a manner that is robust and champions the interests of victims. The Guidelines draw closely on a consultation that REDRESS held in October 2025 with a group of eight survivors from established Ukrainian survivor networks and were also informed by the perspectives of a range of other Ukrainian and international experts.

• REDRESS continues to work to amplify the voices of survivors who have highlighted the need for an inclusive and victim-centred approach to reparations, including victims who were harmed before the full-scale invasion. See this Joint Statement by Ukrainian survivor groups on the establishment of an International Claims Commission for Ukraine.  

• We continue to support the development of a community of practice on reparations for Ukraine, for example through the publication of a Special Ukraine Edition of REDRESS’s Just Reparation newsletter in February 2026 (update coming soon).

• We continue to develop and advocate for a novel legal basis to confiscate assets in the UK, and have supported amendments to the UK Crime and Policing Bill to empower courts to award compensation for public interest or social purposes. 
• Following our open letter  to the UK government, we continue our advocacy regarding repurposing the £2.5 billion sale proceeds of Chelsea Football Club for victims in Ukraine.  
• On the basis of our Framework for Financial Accountability for Torture and Other Human Rights Abuses, we continue to explore, research, and participate in events and discussions surrounding possible financial accountability routes in the context of Ukraine, including the enforcement of judgments, and civil litigation.  
• REDRESS developed a briefing on the reparations landscape for victims of the war in Ukraine in partnership with the Global Survivors Fund, and continues to support national and international actors on the development and implementation of reparations mechanisms. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

• On the basis of our existing work with the Victims’ Rights Working Group under the Coalition for the International Criminal Court (ICC), we continue to support Ukrainian civil society actors and victims’ representatives to engage in participation and reparations at the ICC. We developed a Q&A for Victims in Ukraine on the ICC Proceedings and their Rights before the Court.  
• We published a short explainer for civil society on UK targeted sanctions.  
• Based on our template for NGO submissions to the UK Global Human Rights Sanctions regime, we train and support civil society actors to draft submissions under the Russia Regulations.  
• We work as part of a global coalition on sanctions in partnership with Human Rights First. 

Related projects 

Under our Justice International programme, by establishing a Global Initiative Against Impunity, together with our partner organisations (FIDH, CRD, ECCHR, Impunity Watch, PGA, TRIAL International, Women’s Initiatives for Gender Justice, and CICC), REDRESS also works to ensure accountability for human rights violations in a number of target countries, including Ukraine.

For more information, contact Lyra Nightingale, Legal advisor ([email protected]). 

Photo credit: Diana Lozovska/ Pexels