occupied territories
RSF calls for the immediate release of Ukrainian journalist Iryna Levchenko, kidnapped in occupied Melitopol three years ago
According to the organization, Russia is currently holding at least 26 Ukrainian journalists, most of whom are detained in dire conditions. RSF underscores that such actions are aimed at suppressing freedom of speech in the occupied territories of Ukraine
Russian attacks have damaged or destroyed 36 prisons, 98 police detention facilities, and 167 court buildings in Ukraine since 2022 – Ombudsman
Ombudsman has issued acts of response regarding the necessity of timely urgent measures to ensure the temporary relocation of institutional care facilities located in active combat zones or nearby settlements, as well as in zones less than 50 km from the state borders with Russia and the Republic of Belarus
Only 5% of those responsible for deporting Ukrainian children face global sanctions
Olena Kondratiuk called for countries to automatically unify national sanctions lists and their expansion to cover corporate networks, Russian family members, and those who facilitate rather than directly commit these crimes
At the UN, Ukraine highlighted systematic persecution of journalists in Russian-occupied territories
Ukraine called on the international community to demand the release of all illegally detained journalists and to strengthen the response to Russian information campaigns
Russia threatens parents with loss of custody to enforce propaganda in occupied schools — Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights
Russia has systematically replaced Ukrainian education with propaganda in occupied territories since 2022, forcing children as young as primary school age to glorify Russian soldiers and justify the invasion, while threatening parents with loss of parental rights if they refuse to comply
Targeting NABU detectives over their origins or relatives in occupied territories is discriminatory, ZMINA human rights advocate warns
Lunyova emphasized that the state often perceives individuals from occupied territories, or those with relatives there, as an additional security risk. Consequently, they may be suspected of disloyalty or even treason solely for maintaining contact with loved ones still under occupation. In her view, this approach contradicts the state's publicly declared policy
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
“Hands Off Women’s Rights”: The first Women’s March in Kyiv since the start of the full-scale war
The Human Rights Centre ZMINA team also joined the march and covered the event
Zelenskyy joins Muslim soldiers for Ramadan Iftar
The Head of State thanked all the defenders present, their brothers- and sisters-in-arms, for defending Ukraine and Ukrainians, strengthening our country, and being part of the shared strength of an independent Ukraine
“No other country in the world has had reporters working under such conditions for years”: Russia’s war crimes against media, illustrated by the regional branches of Suspilne
According to data from the Institute of Mass Information, as of the end of January, Russia has committed 872 crimes against journalists and media outlets in Ukraine, while the total number of Russia’s war crimes since the start of the full-scale invasion has already exceeded 210,000.
Family rescued from forced separation in temporarily occupied territory
This family lived under occupation, during which the children were forced to attend a Russian school. Occupation structures systematically pressured the mother: they threatened her with fines and promised to take the children to an orphanage. Russian military personnel regularly came to their home for inspections. The father, who is an ATO veteran, was repeatedly detained, interrogated, and beaten
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
Over the four years of the full-scale war, Russians have killed 45 employees of Ukrposhta
According to Smilyanskyy, the enterprise has invested over 1 billion hryvnias of its own and borrowed funds into restoring its vehicle fleet. The company is also involved in implementing social initiatives: it delivers aid under the "Winter Support" program, facilitates the registration of Starlink equipment, and ensures the delivery of medicines and charging stations for children with disabilities so they can maintain the operation of essential equipment during power outages
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
Children in one of the schools in occupied Sevastopol are being militarized by Russian militant Pavel Klyasyuk
1.6 million Ukrainian children might have remained under Russian occupation. Their militarization intensified with the start of the full-scale war, although it has been ongoing in Crimea and parts of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions since 2014
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
The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea named the key Russian and occupation agencies responsible for the deportation of Ukrainian children
The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea pointed out that the Russian occupiers have established this vertical by involving a number of institutional structures at both the federal level of the Russian Federation and the local occupation administrations
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
