April 18, 2026. Holosiivskyi district of Kyiv. Six dead, over fifteen wounded, including children. An armed man opens fire on people, barricades himself inside a building, and takes hostages. The killer’s weapon – officially registered. All permits – in order. The verdict on the debate over liberalizing the firearms market was delivered by reality itself,…
Category: Crime
Dmytro Yagunov: Crime and Social Control in Ukraine 2013-2025: Analysis of Transformation Under War Conditions
This study examines crime trends in Ukraine from 2013 to 2025, with particular focus on the impact of Russia’s full-scale invasion beginning February 2022. The analysis reveals that Ukraine represents the first testing ground for studying modern warfare’s impact on a contemporary democratic state operating under European legal frameworks. Pre-war (2013-2021), Ukraine demonstrated consistent crime…
War, Total Surveillance, and The Collapse of Social Control (Criminological Reflections on the Paradox of the Panopticon in Armed Conflict)
Contemporary criminology has long theorised surveillance as the cornerstone of social control. From Bentham’s Panopticon to Foucault’s disciplinary society, and from Zygmunt Bauman’s concept of the “synopticon” to other surveillance studies, the prevailing assumption holds that the totalising gaze of the state and its apparatuses produces order, compliance, and the internalisation of norms. Yet armed…
Crimes Committed with Firearms and Explosives During Wartime: Statistical Overview for 2013–2025
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 created conditions that might reasonably be expected to produce a dramatic surge in firearm-related crime. The massive influx of weapons, breakdown of administrative controls in certain territories, displacement of millions of civilians, and general wartime disruption would logically correlate with increased illegal firearms usage. However, Ukrainian…
‘No Air Raid Siren Will Stop an Intimate Massage When the Time is Right’: Analysis of Police Statistics on Creation of Brothels
The data on offenses of creating or running brothels and procuring in Ukraine from 2013 to 2025 reveals significant fluctuations that reflect both law enforcement priorities and broader societal disruptions. The period reached its peak in 2014, when authorities registered 509 crimes and issued 379 notifications, representing the highest level of documented activity throughout the…
Undermining Justice Under Fire: Crimes Against Justice in War-Time Ukraine
During the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine, crimes against justice have predominantly receded into the shadows, presenting a paradoxical statistical landscape that masks a deeper crisis in institutional accountability. Police statistics demonstrate a dramatic volatility in registered crimes against justice, with initial precipitous declines followed by recent surges that suggest systemic dysfunction rather than genuine…
The Russian Full-Scale Invasion and Crime in Ukraine: A Wartime Analysis of Criminal Justice Dynamics (2013-2025)
The full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 marked not only a military and humanitarian catastrophe but also a critical juncture for the country’s criminal justice system. The past four years of war have had a pronounced negative impact on Ukrainian society and the criminal justice system, fundamentally altering crime patterns and revealing systemic…
Dmytro Yagunov: The Wartime Paradox: Torture Prosecution Effectiveness in Ukraine (2013-2025)
The prosecution of torture in Ukraine presents a paradoxical case study in criminal justice effectiveness. Analysis of official statistics spanning thirteen years (2013-2025) reveals fundamental shifts in investigative capacity, prosecutorial commitment, and systemic dysfunction that challenge conventional assumptions about the relationship between state resources and criminal justice outcomes. Here, we examine torture police statistics across…
Dmytro Yagunov, Rita Haverkamp: Human Trafficking and Satellite Crimes in Wartime Ukraine
More than 6.2 million refugees from Ukraine moved to Europe and other states after the Russian military aggression against Ukraine (the war) began in February 2022. Against this background, trafficking in human beings (THB) appears to be a (trans)national problem in Ukraine. In contrast to this assumption, formally declared statistics related to these crimes in…
At Least 120 Injured in Clashes as Thousands Demand Action on Cartel Violence
Massive protests swept through Mexico City on Saturday, resulting in violent clashes that injured at least 120 people, including 100 police officers. The demonstrations, organized primarily by Gen Z youth groups, focused on escalating violent crime and dissatisfaction with President Claudia Sheinbaum’s handling of cartel violence. The Spark: Mayor’s Assassination The protests were catalyzed by…