The General Prosecutor’s Office has published statistics on international cooperation in criminal matters during the pre-trial investigation.
The statistics demonstrate the extent of Ukraine’s international cooperation with foreign law enforcement agencies. Additionally, an analysis of these figures reflects the impact of the full-scale invasion on Ukraine’s international activities.
In 2024, the Office sent:
- 581 requests for mutual legal assistance: of which 574 were for procedural actions and 7 for the transfer of criminal proceedings. This is 119 more requests than in the previous year.
- 224 extradition requests, which is 74 more than in 2023.
An analysis of the statistics over the past four years (since 2021) allows for the following conclusions.
Firstly, the number of MLA requests (procedural actions, transfer of criminal proceedings) has not changed significantly. On average, the General Prosecutor`s Office sends 480 requests each year.
This indicates that the war has neither stopped nor slowed down the activities of the law enforcement system, despite the increased workload.
Secondly, the full-scale invasion and the notable rise in the number of criminal proceedings (in particular, but not exclusively, due to war crimes) has led to an increase in extradition requests.
In 2021, the Office sent only 60 extradition requests, whereas in 2022 it sent 606. In 2023, 150 requests were sent to foreign states (significantly higher than the 2021 figure), and in 2024, 224 requests were made.
This increase is related to (a) the priority of ensuring the extradition of individuals hiding abroad, as well as (b) the desire to bring Russian war criminals, who are also hiding abroad, to justice.
Thirdly, Ukraine’s activity in the field of international cooperation demonstrates a consistently high level of interaction with foreign law enforcement agencies.
