torture

Russian FSB operative Yagudin Eldar faces prison time over torture in occupied Kherson
News - 31 July 2026

Russian FSB operative Yagudin Eldar faces prison time over torture in occupied Kherson

An officer of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) has been charged in absentia with cruel treatment of civilians and other violations of the laws and customs of war for allegedly torturing a civilian in the occupied Kherson Region

Russian National Guard commander Zelimkhan Akhmerzoev tried in absentia for extorting families of tortured POW and civilians
News - 30 July 2026

Russian National Guard commander Zelimkhan Akhmerzoev tried in absentia for extorting families of tortured POW and civilians

A Ukrainian court has convicted in absentia a Russian National Guard commander who tortured a prisoner of war and civilians during the occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Region

Two captured Russian soldiers charged with torturing elderly man seeking food for sick mother in Kharkiv Oblast
News - 30 July 2026

Two captured Russian soldiers charged with torturing elderly man seeking food for sick mother in Kharkiv Oblast

Two privates from the Russian Armed Forces' 128th Separate Motorised Rifle Brigade, part of the Leningrad Military District's 44th Army Corps, have been charged with the cruel treatment of a civilian for torturing a man during the occupation of the Kharkiv Region

About 7,000 prisoners of war and up to 20,000 civilians are currently in Russian captivity – deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada
News - 29 May 2026

About 7,000 prisoners of war and up to 20,000 civilians are currently in Russian captivity – deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada

Kondratiuk stressed that gathering evidence to hold perpetrators accountable remains critically important, particularly amid what she described as insufficient sanctions pressure on Russia

Hungarian security forces injected detained Ukrainian with Muscle relaxant — The Guardian
News - 20 March 2026

Hungarian security forces injected detained Ukrainian with Muscle relaxant — The Guardian

Another source said traces of a drug of this class were detected during blood tests conducted after the men returned to Ukraine

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,

Russian general Roman Demurchievbrags to wife about torturing and executing Ukrainian POWs
News - 22 February 2026

Russian general Roman Demurchievbrags to wife about torturing and executing Ukrainian POWs

Throughout the correspondence, Demurchiev casually shares accounts of Ukrainian captives who are regularly tortured and killed. As of the publication of this report, Ukrainian law enforcement has not yet announced an official notice of suspicion (charges) against Demurchiev

Prison guards at “Izolyatsia” replicated torture methods shown in the American film The Mauritanian: Daniil Bulhakov says after three years in “DPR” prisons
Articles - 16 January 2026

Prison guards at “Izolyatsia” replicated torture methods shown in the American film The Mauritanian: Daniil Bulhakov says after three years in “DPR” prisons

In an interview with ZMINA, Daniil Bulhakov described how people in the "DPR" were imprisoned just so their property and businesses could be taken over, how things changed in prisons when the Russians took over, how he met British prisoners Aiden Aslin and Shaun Pinner at the colony, where they were facing the death penalty, and how the guards of "Izolyatsia" borrowed ideas for torture from the film "The Mauritanian."

Russian serviceman Chingiz Atantaev was sentenced in absentia for torturing civilians in Andriivka, Kyiv region
News - 08 December 2025

Russian serviceman Chingiz Atantaev was sentenced in absentia for torturing civilians in Andriivka, Kyiv region

Law enforcement officers did not release the convict's name; however, Chingiz Atantaev is easily identifiable from the photos they published. Last year, he and another Russian soldier, Daniil Frolkin, were charged with the murder and robbery of civilians in the Kyiv region

Driving instructor Serhii Kotov from Oleshky, occupied Kherson Oblast, is unlawfully held in Russian penal colony after torture and remains in critical condition
News - 21 November 2025

Driving instructor Serhii Kotov from Oleshky, occupied Kherson Oblast, is unlawfully held in Russian penal colony after torture and remains in critical condition

Serhii’s only contact with his family is through letters. In his letters, he says that work in the sewing workshop is so poorly paid that it barely covers basic needs. Unlawfully detained civilians receive no humanitarian support – they have to pay for everything they need for daily life themselves

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

Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: 13 nuclear workers illegally detained over three years
News - 21 May 2025

Russian occupation of Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant: 13 nuclear workers illegally detained over three years

Regarding the illegally convicted nuclear workers, seven of them have received sentences in fabricated criminal cases, three are awaiting "trial," and the fate of another three is unknown, leading them to be considered missing

Over 27% of detainees were women, 20% from vulnerable groups: International Partnership for Human Rights on Kherson Detention Facility
News - 21 May 2025

Over 27% of detainees were women, 20% from vulnerable groups: International Partnership for Human Rights on Kherson Detention Facility

The report of the IPHR is based on the testimonies of 59 victims gathered by human rights defenders during field missions in the Kherson Oblast

Russia continues the Soviet-era practice of destroying Ukrainian identity at the state level – human rights advocates
News - 18 May 2025

Russia continues the Soviet-era practice of destroying Ukrainian identity at the state level – human rights advocates

Human rights activists are certain that in this way, the Russian authorities are committing not only a war crime but also a crime against humanity with elements of genocide

Over 80% of civilian hostages suffered violence while held in Russian captivity
News - 17 May 2025

Over 80% of civilian hostages suffered violence while held in Russian captivity

The MIHR, together with the Human Rights Centre ZMINA, analysed the testimonies of 93 civilians released from Russian captivity. Human rights activists interviewed 61 men and 32 women aged between 24 and 60 from various occupations, including civil servants, journalists, volunteers, teachers, and others

Russians dubbed torture ‘lie detector’, ‘gym’, and ‘swimming lessons’ in  Kherson Pre-trial Detention Centre – International Partnership for Human Rights reports
News - 17 May 2025

Russians dubbed torture ‘lie detector’, ‘gym’, and ‘swimming lessons’ in Kherson Pre-trial Detention Centre – International Partnership for Human Rights reports

The International Partnership for Human Rights (IPHR) released a new report detailing torture and other inhuman treatment of detainees at a Kherson detention facility

Russian Commander Viktor Bogaturov accused of illegal detention and the torture of civilians in the temporarily occupied Skadovsk
News - 04 April 2025

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