Russia

The intelligence of the Great Britain accuses Russia of intending to mine grain corridor
News - 14 October 2023

The intelligence of the Great Britain accuses Russia of intending to mine grain corridor

Russia aims to refrain from openly causing the sinking of civilian vessels, instead "falsely laying blame" on Ukraine for conducting any attacks on civilian vessels in the Black Sea

Bloody Sparkles: Indian diamond giant Shree Ramkrishna Exports lands on List of International War Sponsors
News - 15 September 2023

Bloody Sparkles: Indian diamond giant Shree Ramkrishna Exports lands on List of International War Sponsors

About three-quarters of the diamonds come from Russia, but they are not accompanied by any official documents that could confirm their origin, according to a statement by the NAPC

A typical day in a Russian prison (a diary of a civilian hostage)
Articles - 08 September 2023

A typical day in a Russian prison (a diary of a civilian hostage)

ZMINA has obtained a diary written by one of the Kremlin’s prisoners, Dmytro (name changed for security reasons), which he secretly kept throughout his imprisonment. We also spoke with Yevgen Yamkovyi and Viacheslav Zavalnyi, who learned firsthand what the modern Russian penitentiary system is like

Crimean Human Rights initiative sounds alarm over decreasing healthcare for civilians in occupied Crimea
News - 14 August 2023

Crimean Human Rights initiative sounds alarm over decreasing healthcare for civilians in occupied Crimea

According to Qirim Gayesi, the maintenance of healthcare institutions has been severely compromised since the onset of the Russian invasion. Heads of medical institutions in Crimea were instructed to send surgeons and surgical nurses to the Ministry of Defense of the occupying country

Lithuanian human rights advocate and documentarian Gediminas Andriukaitis: “Ukraine must be in NATO”
Articles - 06 July 2023

Lithuanian human rights advocate and documentarian Gediminas Andriukaitis: “Ukraine must be in NATO”

In the interview with ZMINA Andriukaitis shared his impressions of documentaries during Docudays UA Festival and told how Lithuania perceives Russia's war against Ukraine, and explained why Vladimir Putin tried to persuade European political elites for a long time that there is what he defines as a ‘special democracy’ in the Russian Federation

Occupation authorities in Ukrainian Crimea accused of using administrative resources to justify Russia’s war
News - 25 June 2023

Occupation authorities in Ukrainian Crimea accused of using administrative resources to justify Russia’s war

The occupying authorities regularly receive plans to collect "voluntary" aid for the Russian military, which are often funded by Crimean entrepreneurs. Representatives of businesses fear to disapprove of the imposed support for the Russian army due to potential repercussions from occupying bodies

Qirim Gayesi: Russian-installed law enforcement agencies threatened and attacked іndependent lawyers in temporarily occupied Crimea in 2022
News - 26 April 2023

Qirim Gayesi: Russian-installed law enforcement agencies threatened and attacked іndependent lawyers in temporarily occupied Crimea in 2022

From the first days of the invasion, Russian-installed law enforcement agencies began unofficially threatening lawyers that they would be subjected to martial law. Later, a series of attacks ensued, including the arrest of lawyers, disbarment, and blocking of their mobile connections

Russian forces continue to violate the property rights of Ukrainians in temporarily occupied Crimea, flouting the Geneva Convention – Crimean human rights defenders
News - 18 April 2023

Russian forces continue to violate the property rights of Ukrainians in temporarily occupied Crimea, flouting the Geneva Convention – Crimean human rights defenders

The confiscation of properties violates international law and highlights the ongoing aggressive policies of the Russian occupiers

Over 30 citizens of Ukraine are persecuted for participation in the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion
Articles - 10 March 2023

Over 30 citizens of Ukraine are persecuted for participation in the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion

ZMINA discusses below one form of political persecution in the temporarily occupied territories, which includes cases related to the Noman Çelebicihan Crimean Tatar Volunteer Battalion

OHCHR documented widespread practices of torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian civilian detainees by Russian armed forces
News - 25 October 2022

OHCHR documented widespread practices of torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian civilian detainees by Russian armed forces

Of 38 released civilians (34 men, 4 women) interviewed by OHCHR in the mentioned period, 33 individuals reported having various forms of torture or ill-treatment inflicted on them while in detention, in order to force them to confess to having cooperated with the Ukrainian armed forces, to force them to cooperate with Russian armed forces or affiliated armed groups, or simply to intimidate them

Russia has unduly restricted the right to freedom of opinion and expression in temporarily occupied Crimea since full-scale war against Ukraine – OHCHR
News - 29 September 2022

Russia has unduly restricted the right to freedom of opinion and expression in temporarily occupied Crimea since full-scale war against Ukraine – OHCHR

OHCHR has documented the prosecution of 89 individuals in temporarily occupied Crimea for “public actions directed at discrediting the armed forces of the Russian Federation” since the legislation was introduced in March 2022

Road for survival. How Ukrainians from occupied South cross Vasylivka to break free
Articles - 08 September 2022

Road for survival. How Ukrainians from occupied South cross Vasylivka to break free

 ZMINA talked to people, volunteers, and drivers who crossed the checkpoints in Vasylivka. In a few months, they turned into a separate world, subject to the changing mood of the occupiers – lawlessness reigns here, people have to spend nights by the road in tents and cars or neighboring villages, undergo humiliating inspections, and do not have access to healthcare. The physically and psychologically exhausting wait for departure has already claimed the lives of more than ten people.

‘I recognized his cross and teeth, waited for DNA analysis results for another month’: Iryna from Chernihiv spent several weeks searching for her husband, killed in Russian strike on evacuation bus
Articles - 02 September 2022

‘I recognized his cross and teeth, waited for DNA analysis results for another month’: Iryna from Chernihiv spent several weeks searching for her husband, killed in Russian strike on evacuation bus

The man could not be found for a long time. His relatives believed in a miracle, but the DNA analysis of the body found later confirmed that Yevhen had been killed between the villages of Kolychivka and Lukashivka. The Russian military struck the bus he was traveling in with an anti-tank guided missile. Iryna, the wife of the murdered man, told ZMINA about the weeks spent hoping that her husband had survived, searching for him, and the circumstances of the Russian war crime.

‘Spring was very cold. Or so it seems to us’: Story of man from Mariupol who survived under rubble of bombed-out building but lost his daughter
Articles - 30 August 2022

‘Spring was very cold. Or so it seems to us’: Story of man from Mariupol who survived under rubble of bombed-out building but lost his daughter

Yevhen Kostomanov, 59, lived and worked in Mariupol all his life. In March, the man lost his daughter – she was killed as a Russian aerial bomb hit their house – but he managed to survive. Yevhen told ZMINA about the month spent in Mariupol and how he, his wife, and seven-year-old grandson fled the city literally on foot.

‘I came for a cross to put on grave of murdered girl and was hit in teeth with buttstock’: reportage on Russian war crimes in Chernihiv region’s village
Articles - 30 August 2022

‘I came for a cross to put on grave of murdered girl and was hit in teeth with buttstock’: reportage on Russian war crimes in Chernihiv region’s village

At the end of June, a ZMINA journalist visited Shestovytsia together with the Educational Human Rights House Chernihiv experts who document the Russian war crimes of the Russians within Ukraine 5 AM Coalition. The article tells about life in the village during the occupation.

‘Occupiers went on a rampage on March 27-28: they shot men of all ages indiscriminately’ A teacher from Bucha tells how she lost her husband and nephew
Articles - 30 August 2022

‘Occupiers went on a rampage on March 27-28: they shot men of all ages indiscriminately’ A teacher from Bucha tells how she lost her husband and nephew

Viktoria Klimtsova, 47, and her elderly mother lived in Bucha until it was liberated from the occupiers. However, at the beginning of April, they left for Cherkasy region as Viktoria had no reason to stay any longer. On March 28, her husband Oleh, who had refused to evacuate not wanting to give an inch of his native land to the Russians, was shot by the Russian military. The woman told ZMINA how her family, together with other residents of a five-story building on Sklozavodska Street, survived the occupation, how they supported the elderly and abandoned animals, and how the Russians massively murdered civilians, including her husband, in the last days of the occupation.

How independent lawyers are ‘silenced’ in Crimea
Articles - 22 July 2022

How independent lawyers are ‘silenced’ in Crimea

This article is about the charges brought against lawyers, the course of their trials, and the consequences these prosecutions will lead to

Human rights defender, journalist Maksym Butkevych gets captured, parents have no contact with him
News - 19 July 2022

Human rights defender, journalist Maksym Butkevych gets captured, parents have no contact with him

Maksym Butkevych devoted about 20 years of his life to human rights activities. In particular, he was a member of the board of the Ukrainian representative office of Amnesty International and the public council under the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine