Articles

Investigators verified over 1,300 incidents in total, using digital investigation techniques to verify destruction, violence and visible casualties using footage and images shared online, satellite imagery and other types of open source material. 

Over the past year the Eyes on Russia team at CIR has been monitoring videos and photographs, published online, claiming to show executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces. The number of cases emerging online has surged in recent months. In this open source investigation (OSINT) we show how each of the 80 deaths we have logged could potentially amount to a war crime under the Geneva convention.

Multiple videos show the men’s last moments, as they kneel or lie on the ground with their hands on their heads or behind their backs.  

Designed to forge a career path into the world of open source analysis, the Academy offers students the opportunity to gain new skills and collaborate with CIR projects on human rights investigations.

Working as an open source (OSINT) investigator at CIR is both challenging and rewarding. Each day brings new opportunities to uncover, verify, and report on critical information related to human rights violations and armed conflicts.

We spoke to Sofia and Erin to find out more about their day-to-day work and how they became investigators at CIR.

Russian forces have dramatically escalated their use of drone-dropped munitions in Kherson, described by locals as a “human safari”.

Four investigators share their thoughts and experiences from the past year – providing insights into the role open source research has played in the conflict and the personal challenges they have faced.

Open source investigators verify over 2,600 attacks on Ukraine’s hospitals, schools, churches and energy supply since Russian invasion

What are glide bombs and how have they become one of the most important weapons used by Russia in the war in Ukraine?

Since assuming power in August 2021, the Taliban have initiated a number of infrastructure projects in Kabul. But forced evictions and demolitions have seen ethnic minorities and vulnerable communities bear the brunt.

Starting in the last week of October, CIR observed a growing number of videos of Russian Shahed and Geran One Way Attack (OWA) drones flying at extremely low altitudes over Ukraine, in particular over the capital city, Kyiv. CIR assesses that the recent increase in numbers of drones being launched at Ukraine may be an attempt to deplete Ukraine’s air defence stocks. Additionally, Russia’s last large-scale missile strike against Ukraine occurred in August 2024 and CIR assesses that Russia has possibly been building up their missile stocks for a renewed campaign over the winter period.

In protests that began against job quotas and ended with the ousting of the government, footage filmed on the streets reveals a disproportionate level of violence by police officers and military personnel.