OFU Annual Report 2024
What began as a student-led collective in the early days of the full-scale Russian invasion of Ukraine has, over the course of three years, grown into a professional foundation with a vital mission: harnessing the power of open-source intelligence (OSINT) to serve truth, memory, and justice.
OSINT For Ukraine was born in the halls of Leiden University, where three students came together to create a collective response to unfolding war crimes. From those first data points manually added to a map visualizing international crimes committed by Russia, OSINT for Ukraine has grown into a diverse, international team of investigators, analysts, lawyers, and technologists. Together, we have built open-source tools, launched groundbreaking investigations, and trained others to do the same.
Each phase of OSINT for Ukraine’s journey—from student collective to semi-professional initiative to official foundation—has marked a deepening of our commitment. With the creation of our projects, International Crimes Investigation Group (ICIG) and the Center for Influence and Disinformation Research (CIDER), and major milestones like the ‘Project Mariupol: A Gateway to Evidence’, we have strived to support accountability efforts and push back against disinformation with clarity and credibility.
Now officially registered as a foundation in The Hague, the city of justice, OSINT For Ukraine enters a new chapter—one defined by structure, collaboration with global justice institutions, and an expanded outreach mission. But throughout these transformations, our core values have remained unchanged.
This annual report captures the first year (2024) of our story as a foundation. It is alook back—but also a launching point for everything still to come.
