The Managing Partner of Ilyashev & Partners Law Firm, Mikhail Ilyashev, and the Attorney Dmytro Nikulesko were awarded the Red Cross Badge of Honour, the highest award of the Ukrainian Red Cross Society.

Thanks to the efforts of the Ilyashev & Partners’ team, at the end of 2020, the long-lasting illegal use of the Red Cross emblem by one of the networks of medical centers in Ukraine as its own trademark was successfully terminated. The litigation initiated to terminate the violations related to the illegal use of the emblem became the pioneer case of the successful defense of the Red Cross emblem in Ukraine. The legal services to the Ukrainian Red Cross Society were provided pro bono.

The Red Cross emblem is one of the most recognizable symbols in the world. The Red Cross emblem was adopted under the original Geneva Convention of 1864 to identify and protect the persons and objects providing humanitarian aid in the zones of armed conflict. Today, it is often associated with medicine and healthcare, while its primary and unique function is to protect the wounded and sick soldiers during the armed conflicts, as well as those taking care of them. The emblem also indicates that a person or object is linked to the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, of which the Red Cross of Ukraine is a part. The illegal use of this symbol leads to misunderstandings and discrediting of the Red Cross emblem and jeopardizes the safety of those for whom the emblem was created.

The Ukrainian Red Cross Society has a special humanitarian mandate, humanitarian initiative as a member of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, and operates under the Law of Ukraine On Ukrainian Red Cross Society and the Law of Ukraine On the Symbols of the Red Cross, the Red Crescent and the Red Crystal in Ukraine. Pursuant to the national legislation of Ukraine and international treaties, the use of the red cross image is allowed only to the Red Cross Society and its representative offices in Ukraine.