Three organisations from Ukraine, Belarus and the Russian Federation that help conscientious objectors have been nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize

This is stated on the website of the International Peace Bureau.

These are the Belarusian organisation Nash Dim (Our House), the Russian Movement of Conscientious Objectors and the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement.

"The Russian Movement of Conscientious Objectors, the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, and the Belarusian Our House have demonstrated unparalleled excellence and dedication in their efforts as defenders of peace, conscientious objection, and human rights, especially after the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine began on 24 February 2022 and despite the considerable stigmatization each organization has faced since," the statement reads.

The founder of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement is Ruslan Kotsaba, a pro-Russian propagandist from Ivano-Frankivsk.

The organisation itself was founded in 2019. There is almost no information about its activities in open sources.

Ruslan Kotsaba himself is accused of treason. The trial, in this case, has been going on for a year.

This is not the first court case against Kotsaba: in May 2016, the Ivano-Frankivsk City Court convicted Ruslan Kotsaba. The panel of judges sentenced the journalist to three and a half years in prison for obstructing the activities of the Armed Forces of Ukraine. 

The Regional Court of Appeal fully acquitted Kotsaba and found him not guilty. The prosecutor's office appealed this decision to the High Specialised Court of Ukraine, which sent Kotsaba's case back for retrial.

In February 2018, the Ivano-Frankivsk Regional Court of Appeal ruled to send the case to the Dolyna District Court. From there, the indictment was returned to the prosecutor's office due to a lack of evidence. The prosecutor's office considered such actions of the court to be illegal and appealed against the return of the indictment. Since April 2019, the case has been pending in the Kolomyia court.

Currently, Kotsaba is in the United States, where he travelled under the 'Unite for Ukraine' programme. The State Border Guard Service refused to disclose how he travelled abroad, as this is classified information.

 According to Ruslan Kotsaba's lawyer, he is in the US as an alleged political refugee.