31 July 2026
Articles
‘I found out about the criminal case from the news’: Why Russia orders the arrest of journalists in absentia and what risks this poses to them
ZMINA spoke to Ukrainian journalists who are being persecuted by Russia because of their work to find out how fabricated criminal cases are changing their lives, whether these cases pose a genuine threat and why the Kremlin is increasingly using illegitimate courts in occupied territories and courts in the Russian Federation as an element of information warfare
‘Justice must be restored’: Ukraine puts ‘judge’ who sentenced journalist Semena in occupied Crimea on trial
Read the full article by ZMINA to learn how Mykola Semena was tried in occupied Crimea, why the actions of illegitimate judge Nadiia Shkolna constitute a war crime and how the case against her is progressing in a Ukrainian court
‘I’m not a spy – I just want to live here’: What children leaving occupied territories go through
ZMINA tells the story of Sofiia, whose name has been changed for security reasons. She left temporarily occupied Donetsk to enrol at a Ukrainian university. Sofiia's experience shows that reintegration is about more than documents, education and safety
News
Illegally detained journalist Iryna Levchenko faces constant transfers for Russian investigations
Russian security forces transfer illegally imprisoned Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko every ten days from a Donetsk Detention Centre to temporarily occupied Melitopol for investigative actions before returning her to Donetsk, the journalist wrote in a letter recently received by her family.
Russian shelling killed six adults and a child in Ukraine on 30 August
As a result of shelling by the Russian military over the 24 hours of 30 August in the Donetsk and Zaporizhzhia Regions (Oblasts), seven civilians were killed, and at least 37 more were injured, in particular in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Dnipropetrovsk, and Kyiv Oblasts, and in Kyiv, according to reports of the National Police of Ukraine
UN committee declares legal obligation for slavery reparations
Caribbean and African nations are increasingly utilizing UN mechanisms to form a unified diplomatic bloc. This pressures former colonial powers to engage in dialogues about restorative justice, fundamentally shifting traditional North-South diplomatic dynamics.
Experts report surge in cyberbullying by teenagers targeting peers and teachers in Ukraine: What punishment courts impose
For children's behaviour online, courts hold their parents, mostly mothers, administratively liable. Usually, a warning or a fine ranging from 850 to 1,700 hryvnias is issued
Russian strikes kill nine civilians in Ukraine on 27 August
Russian strikes on August 27 2026, killed nine civilians in the Kharkiv, Kherson, Zaporizhzhia, Dnipropetrovsk, Donetsk and Sumy Regions (Oblasts), and wounded 47 others, including in the Kyiv Oblast
UN Special Rapporteurs yet to respond to appeal concerning Iryna Danylovych
Two months after international organisations appealed to six UN Special Rapporteurs to help secure the release of Crimean citizen journalist Iryna Danylovych and protect her rights, the UN experts have yet to respond, Olha Novytska, the sister of journalist and activist Iryna Danylovych
First sentence for ‘activities against Russian security’ handed down in occupied Yalta
Article 280.4 of the Russian Criminal Code provides for liability for public calls for activities that the Russian authorities consider directed against the state's security. In Russian judicial practice, this article has been used, in particular, to persecute people over public statements related to the war against Ukraine
FSB detained man in occupied Yevpatoriia over support for Armed Forces of Ukraine on Telegram
Russia’s FSB stated that it has detained a local man born in 2002 in occupied Yevpatoriia, the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, on suspicion of making public calls for extremist activity in Telegram posts, pro-Russian Telegram channels reported
Local authorities ‘forget’ to register orphans for housing in two Ukrainian regions
A monitoring group found that the children's affairs service of the Boratyn village council did not place orphans on the housing queue, believing that their place of registration or their right to use property was a reason not to do so. Following the Ombudsman's recommendations, the service put eight children in the housing queue
Ukrainian ombudsman details talks with Russian counterpart on POW conditions and letter exchanges
The two sides discussed establishing a monitoring mission involving foreign ombudsmen to assess the conditions of civilian captives. A separate part of the talks focused on the mutual return of elderly citizens to the territory of both countries
Only 196 out of 50,000 orphans on waitlist receive state housing over past 2 years
Over the two years from 2024 to 2025, regional and local programs provided housing to only 196 people. In 2025, 16 of Ukraine's 25 oblasts did not provide housing to a single person
Russian court sentenced occupied Melitopol resident to six years over Telegram comments
The Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don, Russia, has sentenced a resident of occupied Melitopol in the Zaporizhzhia Region to six years in a general-regime penal colony over comments posted on Telegram
Ukrainian citizens and foreigners entitled to request government data on budgets and salaries
Ukrainian and foreign individuals and legal entities, as well as citizens' associations without legal entity status, have the right to request public information. Entities of authoritative powers - state or local government bodies and their officials - cannot submit such requests
UK tells TikTok to remove videos glorifying dangerous driving
TikTok has previously said it was removing videos and accounts that broke its rules
Ukraine’s indigenous peoples face repression and erasure of identity under Russian occupation, Mejlis chairman says
The Mejlis chairman Refat Chubarov noted that Ukraine's state policy must include assisting people living in the occupied territories and preparing for the de-occupation of the peninsula to integrate a liberated Crimea into Ukraine's legal and political space
Russian strikes kill eight civilians in Ukraine on 23 August
Russian strikes on 23 August 2026 killed eight civilians in the Kharkiv, Donetsk and Sumy Regions (Oblasts) and wounded 48 others across the Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Chernihiv, and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts
Man in occupied Crimea fined over Telegram posts, and “judge” refers to him as a woman in ruling
The Russian-controlled “Kyivskyi District Court” of Simferopol fined Hennadii Yanchevskyi 30,000 roubles (approximately UAH 16,000) under the provision on the so-called “discrediting” of the Russian military. The fine was imposed over Telegram posts in which, according to the court, he expressed negative views of the actions of Russian troops and Russia’s war against Ukraine, ZMINA reported, citing a ruling published on the website of the “Kyivskyi District Court” of Simferopol.
At least 15 civilians killed and 130 others injured in Russian strike on shopping centre in Kryvyi Rih
The Office of the Prosecutor General confirmed the double-tap strike, noting the attack occurred at around 16:30
Three years in Russian captivity: Anastasiia Hlukhovska still cut off from her family
The pre-trial Detention Centre No. 33 in Kyzyl remains the journalist’s last known place of detention. The facility has also been linked to the detention of other Ukrainian civilians, including journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna and Yevhen Matvieiev, the mayor of Dniprorudne, both of whom died in Russian captivity
Russian strike kills at least 15 and injures 40 in Kyiv as Ukraine grapples with air defence shortages (updated)
The latest strikes on Kyiv began around midnight local time as air raid sirens sounded across the city, followed by the impact of around 20 Russian missiles
Ukraine’s parliament passes law to increase payments, reform support for families of children with disabilities
Hetmantsev was one of the bill's initiators. Speaking in the plenary hall, he thanked the relevant parliamentary committee, the Ministry of Social Policy and experts involved in drafting the bill. According to him, 160,000 families raising children with disabilities are waiting for the changes provided for by the bill
Kherson region resident to stand trial in occupied Melitopol over Telegram comment
In occupied Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia Region (Oblast), Russian security officials have referred the case of a 43-year-old resident of Kherson Oblast to a Russian-controlled "court" over a comment posted on Telegram
Russia has not disclosed the whereabouts of Ukrainian journalist and political prisoner Heorhiy Levchenko after sentencing – RSF
His current place of detention, however, remains unknown. Svitlana Zalizetska, editor-in-chief of RIA-Pivden, told RSF that she was checking reports that Levchenko may have been transferred to the Altai Republic in Russia to serve his sentence
Ukraine’s ombudsman receives over 500 complaints about rights violations affecting families with children this year
Complaints to the ombudsman about violations of the rights of families with children in Ukraine are rising sharply. A total of 171 were registered throughout 2025 – about a third of the number received since the start of 2026. Action on 137 complaints helped recover more than 3.3 million hryvnias for Ukrainian familie
Eleven Peruvians killed fighting for Russia in Ukraine, more than 100 missing – Peru’s government
The Foreign Affairs Ministry said in total more than 450 Peruvians had joined Russia's military
Ukraine investigates over 16,000 Russian drone strikes on civilians
Kravchenko said that the number of such crimes has been increasing each year. Law enforcement authorities recorded 187 cases in 2022 and 2023 combined. In 2024, there were 2,685 cases; in 2025, the number rose to 7,787
Russian forces executed a captured Ukrainian soldier in the Donetsk region
Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation into the fatal shooting of a captured Ukrainian soldier by Russian forces in the Volnovakha District
Russian strikes kill 16 civilians in Ukraine in one day
Russian strikes on 8 September 2026 killed 16 civilians in Kyiv and the Kyiv, Sumy, Mykolaiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, Kharkiv, Chernihiv and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, the National Police reported. At least 82 others were injured, including in the Poltava Oblast
Crimean Tatar women facing aggression in occupied Crimea, rights advocate says
At least two attacks on Crimean Tatar women in temporarily occupied Crimea over the summer of 2026: one was threatened with a knife, and neighbours attempted to tear off another's headscarf, Crimean Tatar human rights defender and journalist Lutfiye Zudiyeva reported
Three killed, including a child, in overnight Russian attack on Kyiv and surrounding region
Russians killed at least three people, including a child born in 2022, in overnight ballistic attacks near the Ukrainian capital Kyiv
Ethiopia targets independent media in escalating press freedom crackdown – rights groups
The Committee to Protect Journalists and Human Rights Watch say a raid on the offices of the Addis Standard was part of a wider pattern of targeting independent media
West’s efforts to counter Russia’s shadow fleet are ‘imitation’ – maritime expert
Western sanctions against Russia's oil trade exist on paper but their enforcement is little more than a sham, with NATO-linked companies continuing to transport half of Moscow's oil exports, Ukrainian maritime expert Andrii Klymenko said in Kyiv
Russian drone strike on market in Sumy Oblast injures 10, two critically
Moreover, on the night of 5-6 August, Russian forces launched four guided aerial bombs in an attack on Sumy, leaving at least 12 people injured and causing extensive damage
Russia steps up pressure on exiled journalists: Reporters Without Borders condemns new repressive law
Russian authorities continue to expand the legal mechanisms they use to persecute independent journalists. Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has condemned a new law unanimously passed by the Russian State Duma on 24 July, 2026. The law imposes further restrictions on people designated as "foreign agents" in Russia or linked to so-called "undesirable organisations"
Russia strikes civilian ship in Black Sea: One dead, several wounded
One person was killed and three others were wounded in a Russian strike on a civilian vessel in the Black Sea off the Odesa Region (Oblast)
Crimean political prisoner Larysa Haidai loses weight and grows weak behind bars, Crimean Human Rights Group says
A 62-year-old Crimean political prisoner, Larysa Haidai, has lost 15 kilograms and become weaker after being held completely incommunicado by Russian occupying forces for more than two years
Crimean political prisoner Yevhen Shved, already sentenced twice, charged with “high treason”
Russian occupation authorities have brought a new charge of "high treason" against Crimean political prisoner Yevhen Shved, whom they have already sentenced twice, Vladyslav Yesypenko, a journalist and former Kremlin prisoner
Russia designated U.S.-based Crimean Tatar Foundation an “undesirable organisation”
Russian prosecutors also claim that the Crimean Tatar Foundation organises lectures, conferences and exhibitions covering the deportation of the Crimean Tatar people, Russia’s occupation of Crimea and its war against Ukraine
Seventeen killed, dozens wounded in overnight Russian strike on Kyiv and surrounding region
Russian military strikes overnight into August 5, 2026, killed 17 civilians and wounded more than 50 others in Kyiv and the Kyiv region
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill links nuclear weapons to God’s grace
Russian Orthodox Patriarch Kirill spoke about the creation and purpose of Russia's nuclear weapons during a speech to worshippers at the Holy Trinity-St. Seraphim-Diveyevo Convent in the Nizhny Novgorod Oblast.
Russian “human safari”: Video shows drone chasing and attacking street vendor in Kherson
Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has accused Russian soldiers of taking pleasure in killing people. After footage emerged showing a Ukrainian market trader being chased by a drone, the 52-year-old was selling vegetables in the Kherson Region (Oblast) when a drone circled his vehicle and then exploded, leaving him with a concussion and shrapnel wounds
Children killed and others wounded as Russian strikes hit Odesa, Sumy, Donetsk, and Kherson regions
Russian military strikes overnight and on the morning of August 4, 2026, killed and wounded civilians across the Odesa, Sumy, Donetsk and Kherson Regions (Oblasts
Russian strike on petrol station in Ukraine’s Dnipropetrovsk Oblast kills three, including 8-year-old child
Russian forces killed three people, including an eight-year-old child, in their strike on a petrol station in Ukraine's Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on the afternoon of 3 August
Four Ukrainian сhildren return from Russian-occupied territories with U.S. First Lady’s support
International humanitarian law prohibits the forcible transfer and deportation of children and any change to their personal status, and obliges parties to an armed conflict to facilitate the reunification of children with their families
Russian drone strikes kill two civilians and injure 12 in Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on 1 August
Russians killed two and injured 12 other civilians, including a 16-year-old young man, with an FPV drone in the Dnipropetrovsk Oblast on 1 August 2026
Russians kill at least nine in Kyiv in ballistic missile strikes overnight (updating)
Russian forces launched a combined strike on Kyiv and the Kyiv region overnight on 1 August 2026. At least nine people have been killed in Russian ballistic missile strikes on Kyiv, local officials stated. A further 28 people were injured in the attack on the Ukrainian capital overnight, according to the country's State Emergency Service
