civilian hostages
“Broken ribs have already healed, so there’s no point”: what civilians face after captivity and torture to get money and help
ZMINA talked about this with several former prisoners who were abducted during the occupation of Kherson, as well as Olena Belyachkova, coordinator of the groups of families of POWs and missing persons at Media Initiative for Human Rights.
OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism will help Ukraine show the true scale of war crimes committed against civilians by Russia in Ukraine
According to the Permanent Representative of Luxembourg to the OSCE, after bilateral consultations with Ukraine, members of 45 OSCE delegations decided to apply the 8th paragraph of the Moscow Mechanism
Forced filming in propaganda: How Russians use civilian hostages to strengthen their power
For the most part, relatives who contacted the ZMINA Human Rights Center complained that the occupiers did not inform them about the circumstances or the detention of their loved ones
Mariupol resident, Mariana Checheliuk’s health deteriorated significantly due to captivity
Mariana Checheliuk, a 24-year-old police officer from Mariupol, has suffered a significant deterioration in her health and immune system due to her extended stay in captivity. In August 2023, she was transferred from a prison in Taganrog to Mariupol, where she is still being held. Mariana’s mother, Natalia Checheliuk, told ZMINA about this. According to […]
Three stories of women taken by Russians as civilian hostages from Kherson
Olha and Svitlana told ZMINA about how Russian occupying forces took prisoners, hastily prepared new cells for them, and held civilian hostages on the occupied left bank of the Kherson region
A typical day in a Russian prison (a diary of a civilian hostage)
ZMINA has obtained a diary written by one of the Kremlin’s prisoners, Dmytro (name changed for security reasons), which he secretly kept throughout his imprisonment. We also spoke with Yevgen Yamkovyi and Viacheslav Zavalnyi, who learned firsthand what the modern Russian penitentiary system is like
A story of an elderly man from Balakliya on a 12-day hunger strike in Russian captivity
Russian occupying forces took 73-year-old Viktor Illinsky from his home in Balakliya, Kharkiv region, in early August 2022. They wrapped a jacket around his head, put him in a military jeep, and drove him to the local police station. He was held with other civilian hostages, including another man in his 70s, in a cramped […]
Three stories about the abuse and inhumane conditions for Ukrainian women prisoners
Read about how Russian forces detain women, the conditions in which they are held, and their treatment in Russian prisons in the stories of the director of a village club and a masseuse from Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, and a volunteer from Mariupol, Donetsk region, shared with ZMINA by the prisoners themselves or their relatives and friends
Mariupol policewoman Mariana Chechelyuk’s health has deteriorated significantly over the year of captivity
For a year, the occupiers transported the woman from one prison to another, subjected her to physical and psychological pressure, and created unbearable detention conditions. Currently, Mariana Chechelyuk needs medical care, which is not provided to her in the Taganrog detention center
Columns
More than 60 Crimean political prisoners are already in need of urgent medical care: How to solve this problem
Ukrainian parliament appeals for NATO membership as foundation for lasting peace
Ukraine rejects “pacifying the aggressor” as a path to peace
“Appeasement never works”: Lessons from Bosnia’s post-war justice
