Ukraine: the anger and legal quandary surrounding collaboration
After the recapture by Ukraine last autumn of territories occupied by Russia since its invasion of the country in February 2022, there is a strong public demand that those who collaborated with the occupier should be brought to account before the courts. Beyond the most flagrant cases, the legal process of identifying collaboration can be both complicated and sensitive, with some having acted voluntarily, others under duress. The prosecution services, meanwhile, are under pressure to act swiftly. Carine Fouteau reports from the city of Kharkiv and its surrounds, liberated last September.
ItIt is with an unfaded anger that Tetiana Bondarieva speaks of former colleagues at the secondary school where she once taught Ukrainian. “They are my personal enemies,” she said, “they betrayed me, they’ve betrayed the country.”
