Despite years of Western sanctions, Russia’s war machine continues to hit Ukraine with deadly force. From missile remnants to mass graves, Kharkiv tells the story of a conflict where justice remains as distant as peace.
Kharkiv, Ukraine – Twisted metal and shattered lives paint a grim picture just outside Ukraine’s second-largest city. At a secret location near Kharkiv, a growing pile of destroyed rockets, missiles, and drones stands as chilling evidence that the war is far from over—and that Western sanctions have yet to stop Russia’s brutal campaign.
Since Russia launched its full-scale invasion in early 2022, the West has imposed sweeping sanctions aimed at crippling Moscow’s war machine. But nearly four years later, Ukrainian prosecutors say these measures have had limited impact. Weapons continue to rain down on cities like Kharkiv, just 30 kilometers from the Russian border.
“This is material evidence we will use to prove Russia’s guilt in war crimes,” says Dmytro Chubenko from the Kharkiv Region Prosecutor’s Office. He walks among drone wreckage and missile debris, pointing out one of the latest: a Russian-made version of Iran’s Shahed drone, cheap and deadly at just $20,000 apiece. Near it lies the mangled remains of a multi-million-dollar cruise missile.
But these weapons, Dmytro explains, aren’t purely Russian. Many contain Western components, highlighting Russia’s ability to circumvent global restrictions. “Doing nothing is not an option,” he says. “But sanctions must hit harder—especially the oil and gas sectors.”
President Donald Trump, once open to warmer ties with Russia, now threatens new sanctions unless President Vladimir Putin agrees to a ceasefire by Friday. Trump has already hiked tariffs on India for buying Russian oil and vows to introduce secondary sanctions targeting any country trading with Moscow.
Still, many Ukrainians doubt this pressure will bring real change.
Kharkiv bears deep scars from the war. Nearly 3,000 civilians have been killed, including 97 children. Entire neighborhoods lie in ruin. Police Colonel Serhii Bolvinov, standing in the shell of his former headquarters, recalls a 2022 strike that killed three officers and six civilians. “Russia tries to kill as many civilians as it can,” he says.
Bolvinov leads a massive operation to investigate every civilian death. Across Kharkiv, his team conducts meticulous forensic work, building criminal cases against Russian military officers. Their photos and names are pinned on “wanted” boards, as investigators dig through rubble and DNA evidence.
In one office, he shows footage of a deadly strike on people queuing for water. “It’s hard to do this work,” he says, “but it’s for justice—for future justice.”
One of the war’s most haunting reminders lies in a mass grave in Izium, where more than 400 bodies were found. A 3D scan shows the grim reality. “Some cases leave a scar on all of us,” Bolvinov says. “We will never forget this trauma.”
Even if a ceasefire is brokered, Bolvinov insists that true peace is impossible without accountability. “Peace without justice is not really peace,” he says.
At a cemetery just outside Kharkiv, rows of blue and gold flags mark the graves of fallen Ukrainian soldiers. In the civilian section, a mother named Yulia lays flowers on her daughter’s grave. Sofia was just 14 when a Russian bomb killed her as she sat on a park bench.
When asked if renewed U.S. pressure gives her hope, Yulia is quiet. “These conversations have gone on too long,” she says. “Hope is fading.”