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Ukraine strengthens capacities to investigate, prosecute and adjudicate CBRN crimes

Jul 13th 2025

The following is a summary of public reporting by UNICRI and the EU CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence. Blue Dragon Defense is not affiliated with the program described below.

Ukraine has taken another step toward strengthening its ability to investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, and nuclear) crimes. According to UNICRI and the EU CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence, sixteen Ukrainian professionals were certified as national trainers during a Train-the-Trainer course held June 23–25, 2025, at UNICRI headquarters in Turin, Italy.

About the Course

The course was delivered under the project “From CBRN Crime Scene to Courtroom,” implemented by the United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) within the EU CBRN Risk Mitigation Centres of Excellence initiative. According to UNICRI, the program combined two days of theoretical sessions with one day of peer-led practical instruction, focusing on adult learning principles, dynamic teaching methods, visual communication, and effective classroom presence — equipping the participants to train others across Ukraine.

A Broader Effort

UNICRI reports that, between 2025 and 2027, Ukraine will roll out advanced training sessions nationwide for prosecutors, judges, investigators, and law enforcement professionals. The Train-the-Trainer course built on an earlier training held April 7–11, 2025, in Chișinău, Moldova, hosted by the National Institute of Justice of Moldova and implemented by UNICRI, which brought together 32 professionals from Ukraine’s security and justice sectors.

Why It Matters: From Crime Scene to Courtroom

The project’s name captures a fundamental truth of CBRN casework: a prosecution is only as strong as the evidence behind it. Investigating and prosecuting CBRN crimes depends on evidence that was collected correctly, kept free of contamination, and fully documented from the scene through the laboratory and into the courtroom. That is the role of sound CBRN sampling and collection practice and a defensible chain of custody — the documented record that keeps a sample traceable and the results admissible.

Blue Dragon Defense builds CBRN sampling and collection kits designed to support documented chain-of-custody procedures, with chemically cleaned and biologically sterile components to help preserve sample integrity. Learn more about our approach in our field guide on CBRN sampling and chain of custody.

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