Red Cross confirmed detention of only one of 26 Ukrainian journalists held in Russian captivity

The International Committee of the Red Cross has confirmed the detention of just one of the 26 Ukrainian journalists and media workers Russia is unlawfully holding, the Verkhovna Rada’s Temporary Investigative Commission on crimes committed against journalists said in an interim report, the Sudovo-Yurydychna newspaper reported.

Illustrative photo. Photo from open sources

The commission noted in the document that civilian journalists held by Russia are in a particularly vulnerable position due to the absence of effective international protection mechanisms, limited access for international missions and their effective isolation in places of detention.

The report also stresses that a significant number of Ukrainian journalists have been held in Russian captivity for more than 10 years and that their whereabouts often remain unconfirmed.

The commission documents a systematic pattern of persecution, with Russia using arbitrary detention, abductions, enforced disappearances, torture, isolation and sham judicial proceedings against media workers.

The report also notes that those targeted include not only professional journalists but also civilians who document war crimes, gather information or pass it on to others.

In conclusion, the commission found that the Russian Federation is pursuing a systematic and multi-layered policy of persecution against journalists and media workers that includes imprisonment, torture and other forms of pressure.

Earlier, ZMINA reported that over the past year, human rights defenders documented at least 26 cases of pressure, threats and persecution targeting journalists, bloggers and activists, ranging from searches and “preventive conversations” to criminal cases and the use of legislation on so-called foreign agents.

Want more insight from Ukraine’s human-rights story? Follow ZMINA on X, BlueSky, and LinkedIn – and share what matters to you via this short survey here.