An international high-level expert conference ‘United for Justice: Accountability for Attacks against Civilian Objects’ (U4J) took place in Kyiv.

The main goal of this year's conference is to unite the efforts of the international community to bring to justice all those responsible for international crimes against Ukraine, in particular for russia's massive attacks on civilian infrastructure.

One of the key topics of the conference was the destruction of grain terminals and port infrastructure, which has caused significant economic losses and threatens global food security. Over the past two years, russia has destroyed 280 port infrastructure facilities, more than 150 vessels, 17 civilian ships, including more than 100,000 tonnes of grain cargo.

"Ukraine remains one of the world's largest exporters of agricultural products, so protecting Ukrainian ports means saving millions of people from hunger. A year ago, thanks to the support of the Ukrainian Navy and our international partners, Ukraine launched the sea corridor. Despite the constant shelling of port infrastructure by the enemy, the corridor has continued to operate. During this time, the ports have handled 2,523 vessels and transshipped over 68 million tonnes of cargo, of which 46 million tonnes of agricultural products were exported to more than 46 countries. This is more than was exported during the Grain Initiative, which demonstrates that even in times of war, Ukraine is fulfilling its international obligations and making a significant contribution to global food security," said Serhii Derkach, Deputy Minister of Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine.

The key priorities of the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development of Ukraine remain unchanged and are aimed at ensuring the safety, restoration and development of strategic infrastructure.

In this regard, the main objectives of the Ministry in this area include:

• maintaining the smooth operation of the Ukrainian sea corridor;
• restoration and modernisation of port infrastructure;
• digitalisation of processes in ports;
• preserving and developing the potential of the Danube port cluster;
• ensuring the stable operation of the railway infrastructure leading to ports.

The conference is an important step towards mobilising international efforts to document and investigate war crimes in Ukraine, strengthening justice, legal accountability and long-term sustainability.