torture
Russian Commander Viktor Bogaturov accused of illegal detention and the torture of civilians in the temporarily occupied Skadovsk
Investigators established that on March 16, 2022, the Russian officer personally beat a victim in the torso and neck
Three years of occupation at Zaporizhzhia NPP: Lack of qualified personnel, poor maintenance, and trials of Ukrainian nuclear power plant workers
Recruited by Russians workers "from the streets" do not know how to operate the equipment present at the NPP. All of this has a significant impact on nuclear safety, which is degrading, as experts, including those from the IAEA, have repeatedly stated
Russia bears responsibility for the occupied territories – Amnesty International Ukraine
While preparing the report, representatives of Amnesty International Ukraine conducted over 100 interviews with former prisoners of war and their family members. They shared their experiences, memories, and interactions with state and non-governmental organisations
80% of bodies of Ukrainians returned from Russian prisons show signs of torture – Interior Ministry
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs, a total of 2,000 investigators are investigating 70,000 criminal cases of missing persons
“Broken ribs have already healed, so there’s no point”: what civilians face after captivity and torture to get money and help
ZMINA talked about this with several former prisoners who were abducted during the occupation of Kherson, as well as Olena Belyachkova, coordinator of the groups of families of POWs and missing persons at Media Initiative for Human Rights.
Human rights defender Maksym Butkevych celebrates his third birthday in Russian captivity
ZMINA published the full text of his speech during the cassation hearing of his case by the Russian court, which was recorded by one of the visitors
From Kupiansk to Melitopol: the Russian system of torture in illegal detention centers
ZMINA analysts reviewed the testimonies of victims who were illegally detained by the Russians in various places in the occupied territories between April 2022 and March 2023. Here are the main points from the analytical report
“We were kept in a pit near a petrol station”: a teenager from Kherson region told how he was taken to a torture chamber
The guy was taken to a cell where about 15 people were already there. It looked like some kind of shower room: everything was tiled and there was a drain in the corner. Vitalii was the youngest there.
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
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 […]
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 […]
Torture in the occupied territories: global consequences of terror
ZMINA Human Rights Center has been documenting war crimes committed by representatives of the Russian Federation since the beginning of the large-scale invasion of Ukraine. In particular, it interviews victims of arbitrary detention, torture, and ill-treatment. Unfortunately, the practice of committing these crimes remains widespread and systemic. On December 7, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Andriy […]
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
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
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 […]
Three stories about the abuse and inhumane conditions for Ukrainian women prisoners
Read about how Russian forces detain women, the conditions in which they are held, and their treatment in Russian prisons in the stories of the director of a village club and a masseuse from Melitopol, Zaporizhzhia region, and a volunteer from Mariupol, Donetsk region, shared with ZMINA by the prisoners themselves or their relatives and friends
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
Columns
“The number is not answering, but I can hear you”: A letter to a peer in occupation from a 10th grade student
Justice cannot be subject to political pressure
Putin tries to exterminate us as a nation, as Hitler tried to exterminate the Jewish people during World War II
Why African countries believe Russian propaganda and how to prevent it
