Ukraine
“We Build Crimea” portal launched to unite businesses for the restoration of Crimea after its de-occupation
ZMINA explains what the portal "We Build Crimea" is about, who it is intended for, and what opportunities it offers to both the Ukrainian peninsula and its residents
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”
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
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
“The first trial against the russian soldier” as an indicator of the state justice system of Ukraine
The Office of the Prosecutor General (OPG) is constantly updating the statistics of documented violations, as well as bringing charges to the Russian military and government authorities in absentia. However, it is the cases of detained prisoners of war (POW) that have the best prospects in the context of bringing the perpetrators to justice at the domesting level.
Revealing identity of Russian POWs: violation of their right to protection against ‘public curiosity’ or existence of ‘compelling public interest’?
In order to analyze the validity of a possible violation of the relevant provision of GC III, it is necessary to carry out a detailed analysis of the mentioned term "public curiosity", as well as its forms.
At least six thousand people remain in “internats” on the occupied territories
Human rights defenders call upon Ministries and other responsible bodies to assess the situation with internats in the war-affected areas and organize the evacuation of those that can be evacuated as soon as possible.
Columns
Ukrainian parliament appeals for NATO membership as foundation for lasting peace
Ukraine rejects “pacifying the aggressor” as a path to peace
“Appeasement never works”: Lessons from Bosnia’s post-war justice
Liberia demands Russia immediately halt aggression and restore Crimea to Ukraine
