occupation
“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
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?
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
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 […]
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
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
Four stories of missing persons in the occupied territories of Ukraine
ZMINA retells four stories about the abduction and disappearance of Mykola Harbar, a hunter; Vasyl, a handyman; Volodymyr Khorolsky, a territorial defense volunteer; and Artur Baranets, a policeman
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 […]
The health of political prisoner Zevri Abseitov has significantly deteriorated
Fatma Abseitova, Zevri’s wife, visited her husband with their children in Stavropol colony No. 1 in the village of Kochubeevskoye in the Russian Federation
A resident of Nova Kakhovka, abducted three times, was found in one of the Simferopol detention centers
Russian occupying forces tortured the man and tried to find out whether Leonid Adolfovych Kondratsky was the great-grandson of Adolf Hitler
Gafarov-Shyring list: how Russia is killing political prisoners in Crimea
Tetyana Pechonchyk emphasized the importance of publicizing information about political prisoners. In her opinion, it is essential to tell the stories of illegally imprisoned Ukrainian citizens, spread them on social media and abroad, put pressure on Russia, initiate new resolutions of the European Parliament, and raise issues at the level of the OSCE and UN bodies so that Ukrainian citizens, political prisoners at risk with complex diseases, are released first and unconditionally
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
Political prisoner Server Mustafayev shares about poor conditions in Russian prison and lack of medical aid
Maye Mustafayeva and her and Server’s children, eight-year-old Yusuf and five-year-old Naji visited the political prisoner in Tambov prison. The family was allowed to come for an extended three-day visit from July 3 to 6
How to return Ukrainian journalism to the de-occupied territories?
ZMINA collected the opinions of journalists and experts
A story of a man spent two months in captivity in the Russian pre-trial detention center with other civilians and volunteers
Yevhen Yamkovyi, a resident of Kahovka, a city in the Kherson region on the left bank of the Dnipro river occupied by Russian forces, was detained at the checkpoint “Armyansk” in the northern part of the Crimean peninsula on January 6, 2023. Then, he was transferred to the pre-trial detention center No. 2 in Simferopol, […]
A witness account of abduction and torture in Hornostaivka village, Kherson region
Read a full witness testimony of Serhii, a Kherson region resident, about his abduction and torture experience. Due to safety concerns, ZMINA changed the name of the torture survivor
Torture as a policy of suppressing Ukraine’s resistance to the Russian invasion – Report
The analytical report, prepared by ZMINA, provides a detailed account of documented policies, locations, profiles of main targets among civilians, and portraits of typical perpetrators of Russian occupying forces in Ukraine who brutally mistreated people from the Kyiv, Kharkiv, and Kherson regions
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
