This year, just like last year, the platform presented several projects at the festival: the Viewing Room of the Ukraine War Archive, where you could look at the collected materials; a premiere of the film Witnesses. Captivity Kills; and five panel discussions. The discussions covered important subjects related to the Russian invasion and the lives of Ukrainians since it started. In particular, the experts talked about the preservation of archival footage, about Russia’s environmental crimes, about how we are going to remember the ten years of the war; and about hate speech and disinformation, and the role of AI in it. Recordings of the conversations are already available with open access in the DOCUSPACE online cinema.

Especially for these conversations organised together with the Ukraine War Archive team, we prepared a short glossary of the keywords featured in the discussions.

Ecocide

Ecocide is the mass destruction of plant or animal life, the poisoning of the atmosphere or water resources, and other actions that can cause an environmental disaster.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, the Russian army has been intentionally and indirectly destroying entire ecosystems on the territory of Ukraine. According to UA Animals, Russia’s military aggression in Ukraine has killed over 6 million animals, 183,000 square metres of soil have been polluted with harmful substances, 680,000 tonnes of oil products have been burned by bombing (which has led to significant air pollution), and over 20% of the country’s nature reserves have been affected. These are approximate calculations, and unfortunately they are not exhaustive.

The occupation of the Zaporizhia Nuclear Power Plant, the trenches in the radioactive forests of Chornobyl, the blowing up of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant and river pollution — we still cannot fully assess the consequences of the disaster for the environment and the threat to the lives of the Ukrainians. But some of these consequences are already irreparable.

In Ukrainian law, ecocide is an especially severe crime which is punishable by imprisonment. But this concept is still not included in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court. Environmental disasters have no borders, so the ecocide in Ukraine directly affects the environment and climate of the entire world. Only the complete cessation of hostilities, a fair trial, and the postwar recovery of the environment in Ukraine can help slow down the global environmental crisis caused by the Russian invasion.

Memorialisation

Memorialisation refers to actions aimed at honouring a historic event and the meanings related to it.

Practices of memorialisation can vary: monuments, museums, memorial boards, minutes of silence, military cemeteries, memorial dates, documentary films, books, thematic websites and so on.

Memorial objects can emerge spontaneously, such as the thousands of flags in the Independence Square in Kyiv brought by people to honour the memory of the soldiers who have fallen during the full-scale invasion; or the flowers and toys brought to the destroyed houses whose residents have been killed.

At the official level, memorial objects emerge as a result of the work of dedicated institutions and legislative initiatives dealing with the policy of remembrance. For example, one of the important actors of memorialisation in Ukraine is the Institute of National Remembrance; they are developing proposals for the Ministry of Culture and Information Policy regarding the restoration and preservation of national memory, and they then implement these policies.

Hate speech

Hate speech is a systematic use of speech aimed at expressing aggression that targets a person or group of people based on their race, religion, gender or sexual orientation.

The Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe defines hate speech as all forms of expression which spread, incite, promote or justify racial hatred, xenophobia, anti-Semitism or other forms of hatred based on intolerance, including intolerance expressed by aggressive nationalism and ethnocentrism, discrimination and hostility against minorities, migrants and people of immigrant origin.

The term ‘hate speech’ was first used in the 1960s during the American civil rights movement, especially during the struggle for the rights of African Americans, but it was formalised later in academic and political discussions.

Who the first person to use hate speech was is a complex question, because it has existed in various forms and contexts for many centuries. However, historically anti-liberal or racist political figures, state leaders and propagandists can be considered the first to use hate speech to achieve their political or social goals.

Hate speech can destroy society on a massive scale and create serious threats to peace and stability. It can lead to violence, discrimination and the violations of rights; it can cause tension, distrust, and the rise of radical views.

Many examples of hate speech can manifest as racist or xenophobic statements. For example, hurtful comments or threats directed at people of other races or nationalities, LGBTQ+, the Jewish community, gender groups, religious groups, and people with disabilities — these are all cases of hate speech.

Disinformation

The Cambridge Dictionary defines disinformation as “false information spread in order to deceive people”.

It is the purposeful spreading of provocative, distorted, and false information. It is the intention behind the spread of this information that differentiates disinformation as a phenomenon from regular false information.

Disinformation is presented as being true for the purpose of psychological influence and creating a distorted reality for economic, political or other advantages.

Although it is not a new technology, with the development of social media and the digital world disinformation has become a part of our lives.

For Ukraine disinformation is a serious threat, because since the start of the full-scale invasion disinformation has remained one of Russia’s main instruments and a component of the hybrid war.

War crimes are violations of the laws and customs of war, as defined by international conventions and treaties.

After the end of the world wars, the international community formulated the norms of international humanitarian law which prohibited the use of certain types of weapons and methods of waging war. The treaties concerned the protection of civilians, wounded military or prisoners of war during an armed conflict. The list of war crimes is defined by the Rome Statute, which is a statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Ukraine has not yet ratified the Rome Statute, but it has recognised the Court’s jurisdiction. This allows the ICC to investigate the war crimes committed in Ukraine. Bringing Russian military servicemen to justice can be done within the universal jurisdiction. This means that other countries have the right to investigate war crimes regardless of where they were committed, and regardless of the citizenship of the suspects or the victims.

Recognised war crimes include murder, torture, cruel treatment of civilians or prisoners of war, taking civilians hostage, illegal deportation or displacement of civilians, robbery, looting in the occupied areas, intentional attacks on civilian facilities, and the use of prohibited types of weapons.

Authors of this material: Maria Hlazunova, Maria Buchelnikova, Iryna Pavliukovska, Valentyna Humenna, Yulia Tribie.

Photo: Stas Kartashov