Frequently Asked Questions

IMVRRA — International Movement for the Rights of Victims of Russian Aggression — is a charitable foundation registered in Ukraine. Our core directions: systemic legal protection of war victims, support for territorial communities, and strengthening defense capacity through training and practical preparation.

The Foundation's mission is to build effective mechanisms for protecting communities' rights, compensating war damages, and supporting military personnel through educational and practical initiatives.

The Foundation is a collective entity: a team of human rights defenders, lawyers, and people committed to the restoration of justice and peace for Ukraine on fair terms. The Chair of the Board and co-founder is attorney Nataliia Tselovalnichenko — she coordinates strategic work and represents the Foundation publicly.

Decision-making is collegial, through the Board. No participant, including the Chair, is the ultimate beneficial owner, and no one holds sole decisive influence over the Foundation's activities. All resources are directed exclusively to the Foundation's statutory goals — legal protection of those affected by Russian aggression and the building of mechanisms for systemic justice.

This is fundamental: the Foundation is not a personal project but a community built around a mission.

Legal Forces of Ukraine (LFU) is a public–private initiative of civil society, experts and human-rights defenders, aimed at building a publicly accessible legal mechanism for victims of the international crime of Russian aggression to obtain compensation from the assets of the Russian Federation and its enablers.

The project operates in two modes:

• Foundation-supported track — the LFU team works with local self-governance bodies (LSG) and military administrations (MA): methodology, coordination, legal support.
• Private practice outside the Foundation — LFU lawyers provide paid legal representation in private cases of businesses and groups of affected citizens.

Four target audiences:

• Local self-governance bodies (LSG) and military administrations (MA) — to protect the interests of their communities.
• Businesses — enterprises that suffered losses from the aggression.
• Groups of affected citizens — for collective protection of rights.
• Donors and patrons — entitled to recovery of the funds they provided in support.

The victim — a community, a business, or a group of citizens — acts independently in defense of their own interests. The role of the Foundation and the LFU team is methodological and advisory support, not substitution.

Sequence:

1. Collection and substantiation of evidence of the damage suffered (material and non-material).
2. Application to the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) for victim status in connection with war crimes and the war of aggression.
3. Assessment of material damage by qualified expert appraisers.
4. Formation of the right of claim against Russia and its enablers as an intangible asset.
5. Filing of a claim in a Ukrainian court; judgment.
6. Legalization of the judgment in a foreign jurisdiction and enforcement against the assets of the enablers.

LSG and MA act in the interests of their own community. The Foundation does not replace them; it provides methodology and coordination.

Under the Foundation-supported track (work with LSG / MA) — participation is free of charge for the community.

Under the private practice outside the Foundation (support for cases of businesses or groups of citizens) — the LFU team works on a paid basis as a regular legal practice.

The project model rests on victims' right to full compensation drawn from the assets of the Russian Federation and its enablers. The Foundation's legal-support costs are part of victims' claims and are recovered together with the principal claims.

Ready-made international solutions for full compensation do not yet exist — this is a challenge for Ukraine, for partner states, and for the international community alike. The path is being built right now, and the first markers are appearing. One of them is the «DTEK vs Russia» case: in February 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit allowed enforcement of more than USD 300 million against Russian assets for property seized in Crimea, rejecting Russia's plea of sovereign immunity (UNIAN, 20.02.2026).

This confirms that Russia's international jurisdictional immunity is ceasing to be an absolute barrier. The right of claim acquires real weight as an asset — and it is the consolidated effort of communities that gives this weight the scale needed to build a working mechanism.

No, not necessarily. The LFU team provides methodology, advisory support and legal accompaniment. However, decisions are made by the community through its own bodies — the Foundation does not act in place of LSG or MA.

With the support of partners, the Foundation is developing a mechanism for monetizing the rights of claim of victims — the construction of the LFU Platform as an online service.

The Platform is designed to align the interests of three parties:

• Holders of rights of claim — communities, businesses, and citizens affected by the aggression.
• Donors — international and national organizations ready to support the protection of victims.
• Investors — participants prepared to work with the right of claim as a liquid intangible asset.

The goal is to turn victims' rights of claim from a legal construct into a real financial instrument — accelerating the flow of funds and making aggression economically unprofitable.

Contact the Foundation through the contact form. Following initial contact, we conduct a primary assessment of the situation and determine the format of cooperation.

• Access to the methodology for documenting losses and forming the right of claim.
• Legal accompaniment and advisory support from the LFU team.
• Coordination with other communities, partners and the partner network.
• A tool of collective protection — the consolidated right of claim as an asset.

LSG / MA remains the decision-making subject. The Foundation is a methodological partner, not a substitute.

The International Register of Damage, the national budget, and donor funds are slow instruments, limited in scope. More importantly: ready-made international solutions for full compensation do not yet exist. This is an unprecedented challenge — for Ukraine, for partner states, and for the international community.

The path is being built right now. The LFU project moves along a parallel private-law route: a victim formalizes the right of claim against Russia and its enablers as an intangible asset, obtains a Ukrainian court judgment, and then has that judgment legalized in a foreign jurisdiction and enforced against the assets of enablers.

The first markers are already visible. The «DTEK vs Russia» case — in February 2026, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit allowed enforcement of more than USD 300 million against Russian assets, rejecting Russia's plea of sovereign immunity (UNIAN). This is a beacon confirming that breaking Russia's international jurisdictional immunity is possible.

Here, the consolidated effort of communities is not a wish but a critical condition of success. The greater the volume of consolidated claims, the more substantial the asset, the more realistic the mechanism of the aggressor's property liability. The goal is to make aggression deeply unprofitable and costly — not a profitable blood-business for investors and enablers.