This page provides information on the national frameworks to address hate crime in Ukraine. The information provided here should be viewed alongside data presented on Ukraine's hate crime report page.

Hate crime recording and data collection

Hate crime monitoring and data collection in Ukraine is carried out according to an instruction from the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Information about crimes targeting persons, including hate crimes, is registered by National Police unites in the information and communication system ("National Police Information Portal"). The recording protocol enables the recording of the victim's perception of a bias motivation, including "race", nationality, religion, or belief.

If the grounds provided for in Article 214 of the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine are met, the relevant information is entered into the "Unified Register of Pre-trial Investigations", which is managed by the Office of the Prosecutor General in line with the appropriate regulation. The preliminary legal qualification of a crime may change depending on the evidence obtained during the investigation.

Hate crime data is collected for internal use by the Main Investigation Department of the National Police of Ukraine based on information in the protocols on committed or attempted crimes, as well as in the Unified Register of Pre-Trial Investigations. The investigative departments of National Police Directorates for each region of the country have staff responsible for monitoring and identifying information about crimes, including indicators of prejudice. This information is also compiled by the Main Investigation Department of the National Police.

The police define hate crimes as offences committed on the grounds of racial, national or religious intolerance. In addition, records are kept of crimes committed on the grounds of prejudice against members of the LGBTI community and people with disabilities.

When collecting information on hate crimes, the National Police of Ukraine requests the necessary information from other organizations and institutions, including the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine and the Office of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights. Statistical information on hate crimes is published annually on the official website of the National Police. 

Statistics on the judicial outcomes are provided by the State Judicial Administration of Ukraine. Statistical information is also based on separate articles of the Criminal Code but does not reveal information on any bias motivations involved in sentenced cases.

Victimization surveys are not conducted in Ukraine.

Hate crime victim support

Ukraine does not have a developed victim support system. Victims of hate crime have the same legal status as other crime victims.

There are support centres for victims of domestic violence. Support for victims of hate crimes is not provided by the state but by civil society organizations (CSOs). These organizations are not funded by the state and specialize in helping victims who belong to specific categories or groups. The services offered include legal advice, psychosocial counselling and medical support. There are no quality standards issued by the state for support providers.

When recording a crime, police fill out a crime report form that includes information about a perpetrator's potential bias motivation. There is no individual needs assessment procedure for law enforcement in Ukraine; CSOs follow their own procedures.
Crime victims are entitled to free-of-charge interpretation services and legal aid. 

Crime victims can file complaints about their treatment by law enforcement either to the police or to the Ombudsman's Office. Victims of crime can claim compensation from the perpetrator.

Hate crime capacity building

In June 2016, a team of authors from the National Police and the Lviv State University of Internal Affairs developed methodological guidance on "Crimes committed on the basis of intolerance: features of the investigation." 

In 2019, a consultative process involving experts from the National Police of Ukraine, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine, the Prosecutor General's Office and civil society organizations (CSOs) that monitor hate crimes led to the publication of ODIHR's Practical Guide on Categorizing and Investigating Hate Crimes in Ukraine.

The National Police of Ukraine has developed pre-service training programmes for police that cover the qualification and investigation of bias-motivated crimes as part of a course on the "Fundamentals of Criminal Law". The programme was developed in line with the State Educational Standard for trainee police officers and approved by Order No. 1592 of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine (7 November 2024). 

Article 75 of the Law "On the National Police" requires that the in-service  training of investigators be organized annually and that the programme includes the qualification and investigation of bias-motivated crimes, in line with the educational and thematic plans developed by the Human Resources Department together with the Main Investigation Department.

Ukraine's information portal for police features an "additional classes" section, which contains training materials on topics related to preventing and combating discrimination while on police duty, including on addressing bias-motivated crimes. These materials are intended for use during trainings on gender equality, non-discrimination and the Rules of Ethical Conduct of Police Officers. The information portal also contains training materials on the principles of non-discrimination, accessibility and inclusion, including resources on recording and investigating hate crimes, applying hate crime provisions, and the challenges police officers often encounter when proving the motive for the crime. The materials are accessible to all police officers during additional classes held as part of the in-service training system. 

The curriculum of Ukraine's Patrol Police Academies also includes the topics of human rights, non-discrimination, preventing manifestations of intolerance and appropriate responses to bias-motivated crimes.

A course on the "Fundamentals of Ethical and Psychological Training of Police Officers" is included as part of general police training, and covers the legislative provisions for preventing and combating discrimination, identifying indicators of bias against various social groups, measures to tackle such manifestations, and distinguishing between discrimination and hate crimes. 

The topic of hate crimes and the first response of police officers to such crimes is also included in specialized professional training programmes for police, as part of a course on "Fundamentals of Criminal Law". The training materials aim to strengthen the skills and knowledge to identify possible bias motives, adhere to the principles of equality and non-discrimination, and ensure proper and impartial treatment of all persons while performing their official duties.

The topic of combating discrimination and the specifics of investigating bias-motivated crimes is also a mandatory component of personnel training for pre-trial investigation bodies.

In the Donetsk region, the basic pre-service training programmes for cadets and students in higher education institutions includes information on addressing and investigating bias-motivated crimes, with specific training conditions for specialists of the National Police of Ukraine. These training programmes are delivered by the Donetsk Law Institute and other specialized universities of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Investigators of the Main Police Department in the Donetsk region receive in-service training on the topic of bias-motivated crimes as part of the annual training programme at the place of service, as well as in advanced training courses.