LingvaLexa at the MFA Conference: Anna Vyshniakova on Combating Russian Propaganda and the Destruction of Ukraine’s Cultural Heritage

On August 12–13, 2025, the Diplomatic Academy of Ukraine hosted the international conference “International Humanitarian Law in the Dimension of Contemporary Challenges” dedicated to the 76th anniversary of the Geneva Conventions. The event brought together representatives of state institutions and civil society. The participants discussed such important issues as:

the protection and observance of the rights of prisoners of war;

the lack of protection of the rights of civilians detained within the framework of the Geneva Conventions;

the protection of the rights of deported and forcibly displaced children;

modern weapons as instruments of war crimes, including unmanned aerial vehicles, loitering munitions, indiscriminate weapons, and chemical weapons;

the use of artificial intelligence and cyberspace in warfare;

and the role of the UN’s principal organs in the implementation of international humanitarian law.

A separate panel discussion, moderated by the State Secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, Oleksandr Karasevych, was dedicated to the erasure of Ukrainian cultural identity, indoctrination, and propaganda. The panel featured:

Andrii Nadzhos, Deputy Minister of Culture and Strategic Communications of Ukraine for European Integration;

Olha Kuryshko, Representative of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea;

Oleksandr Alfiorov, Head of the Ukrainian Institute of National Memory;

Anna Vyshniakova, Head of the NGO LingvaLexa;

Richard J. Rogers, Founder of Climate Counsel (online).

The participation of LingvaLexa emphasized the importance of the voice of Ukrainian civil society in the international dialogue on the aggressor’s new crimes — from those linked to the destruction of the cultural identity of the Ukrainian people to the use of propaganda as a weapon of war.