enforced disappearances
Russian authorities unlawfully hold former kindergarten employee Olha Syrotenko from Enerhodar in pretrial detention in Mariupol
In December 2024, FSB officers abducted her from her flat
On Genocide Remembrance Day, Mejlis calls on international community to protect Indigenous rights, support Ukraine
The authors of the statement noted that history demonstrates a tragic continuity, as the Crimean Tatar people have once again become victims of repression and persecution
Russia abducts at least 17 Crimean residents, holds them incommunicado for months – Irade human rights initiative
Monitoring conducted by the Irade between February 2025 and May 2025
Ukrainian Maryna Riff has disappeared in occupied Crimea – human rights advocates speak of possible persecution
Ryff did not obtain Russian documents during the occupation
Russian forces disappeared Chornobaivka resident, lorry driver Oleksandr Strohan nearly four years ago, his whereabouts remain unknown
The wife Olha Strohan told ZMINA that she has repeatedly contacted various Russian authorities to find out where her husband is. However, this has brought no results. The only response she received was that his case is classified
Kharkiv Oblast resident Volodymyr Sonko, abducted by Wagner fighters, held in Russian captivity for more than four years
Members of the Wagner Group abducted Volodymyr Sonko, a resident of the village of Hlyboke in the Kharkiv region, from his home on March 17, 2022. He was first held in Lyptsi, then moved to Hoptivka, before being transferred to Russia’s Belgorod region,
UN’s Independent Commission of Inquiry stated that Russia’s deportation of Ukrainian children amounts to crime against humanity
According to a UN commission, the abduction of Ukrainian children to Russia and Belarus constitutes a war crime and a crime against humanity. The acts are widespread, systematic, and coordinated by the highest levels of the Russian government
Just peace in Ukraine must fully protect territorial integrity — UN Secretary-General António Guterres
António Guterres emphasized that a just peace in Ukraine must fully ensure the country's sovereignty, independence, and territorial integrity within its internationally recognized borders, in accordance with the UN Charter, international law, and the relevant UN resolutions.
Prison guards at “Izolyatsia” replicated torture methods shown in the American film The Mauritanian: Daniil Bulhakov says after three years in “DPR” prisons
In an interview with ZMINA, Daniil Bulhakov described how people in the "DPR" were imprisoned just so their property and businesses could be taken over, how things changed in prisons when the Russians took over, how he met British prisoners Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner at the colony, where they were facing the death penalty, and how the guards of "Izolyatsia" borrowed ideas for torture from the film "The Mauritanian."
Russians enter border village in Sumy Oblast and deport more than 50 Ukrainian civilians (updated)
The source of the Ukrainska Pravda news outlet in military circles said taht assault attempts on the border sector of the Sumy Oblast in the area of Hrabovske have been ongoing for several days. The enemy is being repelled and has been unable to advance deeper
Russian occupiers abducted Crimean Tatar woman in temporarily occupied Crimea: they accuse her of “treason”
The Human Rights House Crimea reminded that during the last two years, Russian security forces in temporarily occupied Crimea have intensified the practice of enforced disappearances. As of the end of 2024, there were 27 confirmed cases of this type. Eight of these people could not be found, three were convicted by the illegitimate "courts" on the peninsula, and the rest were released. In 2025, out of 18 persons, only one was released
Volunteer Marharyta Kharenko is unlawfully held in a pre-trial detention centre in Novocherkassk
On 30 March 2023, Russian authorities held a "court" hearing in Marharyta’s case but failed to bring any charges against her due to a lack of evidence. However, she was not released and continued to be unlawfully held
Former State Emergency Service employee Serhii Yeromenko, held by the Kremlin, urgently needs eye surgery
His daughter said her father filed complaints about his deteriorating health due to high blood pressure and progressing cataracts. However, he has received no medical care
Pensioner Oleksandr Pluzhnyk, abducted by Russian soldiers in the Kharkiv Oblast, is held in the Voronezh region
Antonina believes her uncle may have been held in a school basement where the Russians had a "headquarters". According to her, many local residents were unlawfully held there alongside Oleksandr. Later, all the detainees were transferred to an unknown location
“He has never seen his son”: Ukrainian civilian Vadym Burdiienko held by Russia for more than three years
On 2 April 2022, occupying forces broke into the house where Burdiienko lived with his pregnant wife, searched the house and took him away
Russian authorities hold abducted Kyiv region resident Vasyl Manchuk in Russia’s Tula region
Russian forces first held abducted civilian Vasyl Manchuk in Hostomel before transferring him to detention facilities in Russia’s Bryansk and Tula regions, according to his mother and former detainees
From “soft power” to torture chambers: patterns of Russia’s seizure of new states based on Ukraine’s experience
ZMINA summarised the main highlights and recommendations included in the Special Report on the situation in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation
In occupied Sevastopol, security forces kidnapped Serhii Hryshchenkov, there has been no information about him for several weeks
Russia's FSB officers forcibly disappeared Crimean resident, Serhii Hryshchenkov
Columns
Only 5% of those responsible for deporting Ukrainian children face global sanctions
The human safari: How Russia weaponized precision against Ukrainian civilians
The lesson of Crimea: Rewarding aggression only invites more war
Not just Ukraine — Russia is preparing Ukrainian children for future wars elsewhere
