Ukraine is waging a relentless battle against those it considers traitors to the nation. Simply visit the Telegram channel run by the country's security services, the SBU, to get an idea of the intensity of this battle. Every day, investigators share blurred photos of people accused of treason and collaboration, accompanied by snippets of information on the charges – guiding enemy missile strikes on Ukrainian infrastructure, passing on military intelligence to Russian forces, or praising the Russian military on the internet.

For the Ukrainian government, this is a question of national security, but also a vigorous response to the strong demand for justice from Ukrainian society, which is furious with this "enemy from within."

Since the start of the invasion in February 2022, the security services have carried out thousands of investigations and arrests of Ukrainians suspected of treason. "As long as the war lasts, there will be people in our society who will help the enemy, for money or ideology," said SBU chief Vasyl Malyuk, responding in writing to Le Monde's questions. "That's why we won't stop and will do everything to ensure that all traitors and collaborators are punished fairly."

Much of this battle is taking place in the Ukrainian territories occupied by Russian forces, but also in those since liberated by the Kyiv army. On this last point, human rights defenders have made no secret of their concern at the speed with which the government has sentenced many civilians accused of having consorted with the enemy during the occupation.

In the eyes of these NGOs, this immediate wartime justice makes no distinction between acts to survive and outright collaboration with the enemy. "We're in the era of populist promises where everyone must be imprisoned," complained Alena Lunova, director of advocacy at the human rights center Zmina.

At the heart of the criticism are two articles of the criminal code adopted in March 2022: Article 111-1, which deals with "collaborative activities," and Article 111-2, which punishes Ukrainians for providing "assistance to the aggressor state." These two articles were created as a matter of urgency, in the first weeks of the war, and were intended to send a "strong signal" to residents living in territory that was occupied or about to be occupied.

The SBU has identified "tens of thousands of people who helped the enemy in various ways," said Malyuk. "All of them will have to answer for their actions, including before an international court." Since February 2022, over 7,000 investigations have been launched under Article 111-1 of the criminal code, concerning "almost 2,900 people involved," and "330 collaborators" have already been convicted, Malyuk added. One of the latest sentences to date, 15 years in prison, handed down in absentia, concerns Vladimir Saldo, an ex-MP who became acting governor of the occupied Kherson oblast.

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