Approximately 30-50% of civilian russian hostages are denied state aid – human rights activists

Human rights activists analyzed over a hundred cases and decisions of a Commission operating under the Ministry of Community Development, Territories, and Infrastructure. This Commission is tasked with determining whether Ukrainian citizens were deprived of their personal freedom due to the armed aggression of the russian federation. The research focused on the practice of reviewing applications and implementing state support programs for victims of unlawful imprisonment by the occupation authorities. The expert review revealed a number of systemic problems.

Ihor Kotelianets, head of the Association of Relatives of Political Prisoners of the Kremlin, explained that, in its seven months of operation, the Ministry of Development has held eleven sessions of the Commission, a very high number.

“There are thousands of civilians in unlawful Russian captivity. As of October, the Commission had reviewed approximately 4,000 applications, approving about 3,200, meaning these individuals would receive aid. The majority of the applications are from military personnel. At the same time, 30 to 50 percent of rejections likely pertain specifically to civilians. This is a very significant figure,” he stated.

The research also demonstrated that the Commission’s most frequent violations are:

• Lack of transparency in the Commission’s work: Decisions are issued as letters without explanations or information about the possibility of an appeal.
• Excessive demands on applicants: Victims are required to provide evidence that they cannot physically obtain under occupation conditions.
• Violations of procedural rights: Applicants are not heard, and experts are not involved.
• The composition of the Commission is not renewed: There is no competitive selection process, and state bodies that possess key data are not involved.
• Problems with state payments: The Levko Lukianenko Scholarship has been suspended, and annual payments to victims and their families for the years 2023–2025 have been delayed.

Read more: https://mediacenter.org.ua/news