On 7 May 2026, the third annual Ministerial Meeting of the Dialogue Group on Accountability for Ukraine was held in Kyiv as part of the joint international event “United for Justice. Accountability for Crimes against Civilians”, co-organised by the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine and the Government of the Netherlands, with support from European and other international partners. The event brought together national authorities, international stakeholders, civil society, and survivors to reinforce collective efforts to advance accountability for crimes committed by Russia since the illegal full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
Prosecutor General of Ukraine Ruslan Kravchenko, the host of the conference, opened the conference, emphasising the importance of accountability for Ukraine and the need for this work to be done efficiently and comprehensively. This was followed by other high-Level opening speeches, during which participants reiterated strong international support for Ukraine’s justice and accountability efforts.
In a video message, Tom Berendsen, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands, also outlined Dutch support for this work, emphasising the importance of “restoring justice for Ukraine, as a way towards freedom”, referring to the four freedoms award awarded to President Zelenskyy, in April, honouring the courage, endurance, and resilience of the Ukrainian President and the people of Ukraine.
Held in the morning, the Ministerial meeting took the form of two panels to review progress on two themes: “harmonisation of Ukrainian legislation with international standards” and the “strategic development of the investigation and prosecution of international crimes: prioritisation and effective allocation of resources”. The Dialogue Group then agreed recommendations to the Ukrainian authorities under these two themes. The full list of recommendations can be found here.
In their statement, panelists underscored the importance of the Dialogue Group’s work and the participants’ shared commitment to continuing efforts to strengthen Ukraine’s justice system, regarding accountability, support for Ukraine’s EU ambitions, survivor-centred accountability, and the discussion of best practices for coordination and collaboration.
The Ministerial meeting also marked the launch of the OSINT Hub within the framework of the Dialogue Group, with speakers from the Prosecutor General’s Office of Ukraine, Truth Hounds, and IDLO. This initiative aims to improve coordination framework between Ukrainian law enforcement and non-governmental organisations and help improve justice system’s efficiency and long-term institutional capacity.
Following the Ministerial session, the broader United for Justice Conference continued with a series of thematic panels on crimes against civilians, further elaborating on the shared priorities discussed in the morning. The discussions explored crimes in the temporarily occupied territories, crimes against Ukrainian children, the systematic use of drones against civilians and civilian infrastructure, and attacks on critical infrastructure.
As the Dialogue Group looks ahead to 2026, it remains committed to supporting coordination, and enhancing synergies, among the many stakeholders working on accountability, enhancing survivor-centred justice, and promoting the implementation of operational, legal, and institutional reforms and supporting the prioritisation of cases. The day’s discussions reaffirmed that justice efforts require many attributes for success and that the Group’s members are dedicated to continuing support to Ukraine in these efforts.