occupation

Who works in the courts of first instance in the occupied part of Donetsk region
Articles - 21 June 2024

Who works in the courts of first instance in the occupied part of Donetsk region

Last year, the Russians were concerned with bringing the justice system of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (DPR) to the federal level. Earlier, ZMINA told you how the local “Donetsk” servants of Themis were suddenly pushed out of their seats in the “DPR Supreme Court” by the disgraced head of the “Moscow cassation” Nikolai Podkopaev. […]

Who is now administering “supreme” justice in the occupied territory of Donetsk region
Articles - 07 June 2024

Who is now administering “supreme” justice in the occupied territory of Donetsk region

Who took control of the so-called “Supreme Court of the Donetsk People's Republic,” what motivated people from Russian regions to start working there, and to what extent local “elites” have retained their presence in the central judicial institution, read in ZMINA article.

Operation Blockbuster: why Russians shoot staged videos with detained Ukrainians
Articles - 06 June 2024

Operation Blockbuster: why Russians shoot staged videos with detained Ukrainians

ZMINA explored how Russian security forces and courts turn civilian Ukrainians into “terrorists” and why propagandists publish videos of their detentions and confessions

Who became “judges” in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region
Articles - 04 June 2024

Who became “judges” in the occupied part of Zaporizhzhia region

As for all kinds of natives of the Russian hinterland, the question of their prosecution by the Ukrainian authorities will depend on the degree of participation in war crimes against the civilian population

How Kremlin propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine has changed over 10 years
Articles - 03 June 2024

How Kremlin propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine has changed over 10 years

ZMINA traced how propaganda rhetoric has changed over the ten years of occupation of the Luhansk region and talked to media experts about narratives of Russian propaganda in the occupied territories of Ukraine, using the example of publications between 2015 and 2024

Who went to work in the “courts” in the occupied Kherson region
Articles - 30 May 2024

Who went to work in the “courts” in the occupied Kherson region

Read this article about how and from whom the “judicial bodies” were formed in the Kherson region and how impartial the new judges seem

How do Ukrainians see life in the occupied territories after liberation – a study
Articles - 28 May 2024

How do Ukrainians see life in the occupied territories after liberation – a study

From March 11 to March 16, 2024, sociologists interviewed 2005 respondents aged 18 and older in all regions except the temporarily occupied territories (TOT) of Crimea and Donbas and those areas where Ukrainian mobile communications were unavailable at the time of the survey

How Ukraine passes judgment on violations of the laws and customs of war?
Articles - 24 April 2024

How Ukraine passes judgment on violations of the laws and customs of war?

ZMINA analyzed how Ukraine tries war criminals and what challenges it faces

Ten years of occupation of Crimea: memories of Crimean journalists on how it began
Articles - 18 April 2024

Ten years of occupation of Crimea: memories of Crimean journalists on how it began

Taras Shevchenko’s birthday is significant in civic resistance to the occupation of Crimea. In 2014, on March 9, Crimeans came to the monument to Taras Shevchenko in Simferopol with flowers and posters to declare that they did not support the war and the armed Russian military on the streets of their hometowns. The Crimeans were […]

OSCE’s Moscow Mechanism will help Ukraine show the true scale of war crimes committed against civilians by Russia in Ukraine
News - 05 March 2024

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

Is Ukraine’s strategy in the International Court of Justice justified, and what lessons should we learn?
Articles - 13 February 2024

Is Ukraine’s strategy in the International Court of Justice justified, and what lessons should we learn?

Experts from the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group analyzed the Court’s decision and the prerequisites that could have contributed to the dismissal of most of the claims

“Mariupol is a pattern of Russian warfare” – how Russia destroyed the city
Articles - 12 February 2024

“Mariupol is a pattern of Russian warfare” – how Russia destroyed the city

ZMINA recounts the main points from the study “Our City Was Gone.” Russia’s Devastation of Mariupol, Ukraine"

Memories of Halyna Haiova, a torture survivor of the infamous Izolyatsia prison
News - 05 February 2024

Memories of Halyna Haiova, a torture survivor of the infamous Izolyatsia prison

Halyna Haiova, a senior nurse from the city of Dokuchaievsk, Donetsk region, was arrested by representatives of the so-called “Donetsk People’s Republic” (“DPR”) at her workplace on October 14, 2016. She was accused of having pro-Ukrainian views and helping the Ukrainian Armed Forces. The woman was held in captivity for nearly sixteen months, most of […]

How should Ukraine respond to court decisions issued during the occupation?
Articles - 01 February 2024

How should Ukraine respond to court decisions issued during the occupation?

Judges, prosecutors, and human rights activists shared their vision during the discussion “What should be the state’s approach to court decisions made during the occupation after the liberation of the territories of Ukraine?” organized by the ZMINA Human Rights Center.

Forced filming in propaganda: How Russians use civilian hostages to strengthen their power
Columns - 29 January 2024

Forced filming in propaganda: How Russians use civilian hostages to strengthen their power

Since the full-scale invasion, the number of civilians who have been victims of illegal detention and subsequent imprisonment by the Russians is measured in thousands. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Internal Affairs, as of October 2023, the official register contained over 28,000 citizens missing under special circumstances. Some of these people are civilians who […]

Mariupol resident, Mariana Checheliuk’s health deteriorated significantly due to captivity
News - 17 January 2024

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 […]

A story of Oleksandr Tarapon from Crimea, illegally convicted by Russia
Articles - 11 December 2023

A story of Oleksandr Tarapon from Crimea, illegally convicted by Russia

On October 21, 2022, the occupation court of Alushta sentenced Oleksandr Tarapon to 2.5 years in a strict regime colony. He was charged with Article 207.3 (part 1) of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation, namely, “public dissemination of knowingly false information about the use of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation and the exercise of powers by state bodies of the Russian Federation.”

Three stories of women taken by Russians as civilian hostages from Kherson
Articles - 05 November 2023

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