occupied Zaporizhzhia region
Russian-controlled “court” in occupied Melitopol sentenced journalist Iryna Levchenko to 15 years in prison
Levchenko’s name was not disclosed in the statement issued by the Russian security service, which referred to her only by the first letter of her surname
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
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
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
Russian appeal court upheld sentence against 66-year-old Melitopol resident Iryna Sukhovii
In May 2025, FSB officers detained pensioner Iryna Sukhovii. The illegitimate "Zaporizhzhia Regional Court" subsequently sentenced her to 12 years and six months in a general-regime penal colony for "high treason". The Russian occupying authorities accused her of providing financial support to the Armed Forces of Ukraine. In 2026, the First Court of Appeal of General Jurisdiction in Moscow upheld the sentence and dismissed Sukhovii’s appeal. Aleksandr Pushkin, a judge at the court, issued the ruling
Russian National Guard commander Zelimkhan Akhmerzoev tried in absentia for extorting families of tortured POW and civilians
A Ukrainian court has convicted in absentia a Russian National Guard commander who tortured a prisoner of war and civilians during the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Region
Six Russian commanders sentenced in absentia for 2022 assault on Zaporizhzhia nuclear plant
Ukrainian court has convicted six Russian National Guard (Rosgvardia) officers in absentia of violating the laws and customs of war over the assault on the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant
Russian occupation forces detained man in Melitopol over online comments posted in 2022
Russian security forces claim that in September 2022, he posted messages in a public Telegram group for local residents. The occupation authorities classified them as "public calls to the performance of terrorist acts"
Melitopol journalist Anastasiia Hlukhovska declares hunger strike in Russian detention centre
Anastasiia Hlukhovska has been held in Russian captivity for almost three years in an incommunicado status. Since her abduction in August 2023, Russia has effectively held her without contact with the outside world and without officially confirming her place of detention
Russian authorities have sentenced a resident of occupied Tokmak to 15 years in prison for donating to the Armed Forces of Ukraine
In total, the pensioner made 24 transfers totaling 63,420 rubles. She sent the funds in hryvnias from her Ukrainian pension, believing she had the right to manage her own savings to support the Ukrainian military
Disqualified skeleton racer Heraskevych and German initiative Athletes for Peace launch campaign for fallen Ukrainian athletes’ families (updated)
The athlete showcased a helmet featuring 24 portraits, yet emphasized that far more athletes [650 persons] have been killed. He urged that this must be remembered
Human rights defenders urge Zelenskyy to prioritize protection for war victims
Human rights advocates believe that following the liquidation of the Ministry for Reintegration of Temporarily Occupied Territories -- a decision approved by the President -- the head of state himself could initiate a revision of the support architecture and the creation of an effective government body
Government agencies have appointed officials responsible for the temporarily occupied territories: human rights advocate explains what this will change
The ZMINA editorial team sent a request to the Secretariat of the Cabinet of Ministers to find out which ministries had been designated as responsible for policy on the temporarily occupied and frontline territories. In response to the request, the Secretariat provided a list of such representatives in 21 executive bodies, including ministries, the State Emergency Service, the Pension Fund, the State Property Fund, and other relevant institutions
UN condemns Russian aggression, human rights violations on occupied territories and demands troop withdrawal from Ukraine
The resolution relies on the findings of the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on violations by Russia, which confirm facts of enforced disappearances and torture both in the occupied territories and in Russia itself
World must ensure Russia is held legally accountable for the war — Zelenskyy
Zelensky thanked the Netherlands for agreeing to host legal bodies to hold Russia accountable, including the Compensation Commission, which countries plan to establish through an agreement to be signed in The Hague on December 16
Reporters Without Borders has spoken out against amnesty for Russian crimes against journalists in Ukraine
The human rights organization emphasized that even if a peace agreement is concluded, impunity for attacks on journalists is unacceptable, as it undermines the possibility of a just and lasting peace
US and Russia draft “peace plan” legitimizing Russian violations of Ukraine’s territorial integrity and internal interference
Two of Ukraine’s security guarantors under the Budapest Memorandum -- the United States and the Russian Federation -- have drawn up a so-called peace plan that legitimizes the violation of Ukraine's territorial integrity and interference by Russia in its internal affairs
Russia has illegally drafted 46 thousand Ukrainians in the temporarily occupied territories, most of them in Crimea
Russian occupying authorities illegally mobilized 5,368 Ukrainians in the occupied Donetsk Oblast, 4,650 in the Luhansk region, 560 in the Zaporizhzhia region, and 478 in the Kherson region. Additionally, 35,272 individuals were mobilized in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea, and 5,368 in Sevastopol
Columns
“Reaching an agreement with the US on what we disagree on”: What the campaign against ICC means for Ukraine
ICC must remain free from political pressure to bring justice to victims of world’s gravest crimes
Only 5% of those responsible for deporting Ukrainian children face global sanctions
The human safari: How Russia weaponized precision against Ukrainian civilians
