torture of civilians

“War is when your sister dies of her wounds in your arms while Russians torture your son for ten months”: how a mother searched for missing Ivan Zabavskyi in Russia
Articles - 16 June 2026

“War is when your sister dies of her wounds in your arms while Russians torture your son for ten months”: how a mother searched for missing Ivan Zabavskyi in Russia

Ivan Zabavskyi, a resident of Tavilzhanka in the Kharkiv Oblast, was subjected to such a Russian sham trial. He was abducted while travelling to pick up his mother from occupied territory and was subsequently held in basements, where he was tortured and forced to sign a "confession" to a crime he had not committed

Kharkiv Oblast resident Volodymyr Sonko, abducted by Wagner fighters, held in Russian captivity for more than  four years
News - 12 March 2026

Kharkiv Oblast resident Volodymyr Sonko, abducted by Wagner fighters, held in Russian captivity for more than four years

Members of the Wagner Group abducted Volodymyr Sonko, a resident of the village of Hlyboke in the Kharkiv region, from his home on March 17, 2022. He was first held in Lyptsi, then moved to Hoptivka, before being transferred to Russia’s Belgorod region,

Pensioner Oleksandr Pluzhnyk, abducted by Russian soldiers in the Kharkiv Oblast, is held in the Voronezh region
News - 07 August 2025

Pensioner Oleksandr Pluzhnyk, abducted by Russian soldiers in the Kharkiv Oblast, is held in the Voronezh region

Antonina believes her uncle may have been held in a school basement where the Russians had a "headquarters". According to her, many local residents were unlawfully held there alongside Oleksandr. Later, all the detainees were transferred to an unknown location

From “soft power” to torture chambers: patterns of Russia’s seizure of new states based on Ukraine’s experience
Articles - 30 July 2025

From “soft power” to torture chambers: patterns of Russia’s seizure of new states based on Ukraine’s experience

ZMINA summarised the main highlights and recommendations included in the Special Report on the situation in the territories of Ukraine temporarily occupied by the Russian Federation

“Gestapo methods”: political prisoner Iryna Danylovych calls on the European Parliament to condemn torture in a Russian colony where she is held
News - 15 July 2025

“Gestapo methods”: political prisoner Iryna Danylovych calls on the European Parliament to condemn torture in a Russian colony where she is held

Danylovych stated that the administration of women’s penal colony No. 7 in Zelenokumsk, Stavropol Krai, is creating "endless hell" for prisoners.