Themes by tag: russian crimes

As a result of russian shelling of Kyiv, the capital’s zoo was damaged. Turtles and crocodiles sustained injuries. Zoo staff, who provide round-the-clock care for the animals, immediately provided them with the necessary assistance. Fortunately, no animals died. Buildings of the primate and bird departments, the winter garden dome, the aquaterrarium, the hay storage facility, and the northern entrance group were also damaged on the premises.

The zoo is open to media requests to document its current operations.

• animals
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Azat Azatyan has become a displaced person three times in his life. As a child, he moved with his family from Armenia; in 2014, he fled the russian-occupied part of the Donetsk region; and in 2022, he found himself under occupation in Berdiansk, Zaporizhzhia region.

At the beginning of the full-scale russian invasion, Azat began volunteering in Berdiansk, feeding people waiting in lines at checkpoints and helping them evacuate to Ukraine-controlled territories.

This work angered the russian military, who subsequently abducted Azat. He was held in captivity for 43 days and subjected to torture. Only thoughts of his wife and three children helped Azat survive the abuse. After escaping the occupied area and undergoing medical treatment, he chose to continue helping those in need, opening 11 centers for internally displaced persons (IDPs).

In 2025, alongside other civilians who survived captivity, he founded the “Way of the Free” rehabilitation center in Zaporizhzhia for those who suffered in confinement. The center provides psychological and legal assistance free of charge, as well as physical rehabilitation sessions. Additionally, this summer, the NGO presented a documentary about captives titled “Fire Does Not Burn the Fierce.” The film compiles the stories of seven civilians who survived russian captivity.

Azat Azatyan is available for interviews both online and offline in Zaporizhzhia, by prior arrangement.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Zaporizhzhia

Leading Ukrainian human rights organisations invite you to the launch event of the project “Documentation and Analysis of International Crimes Committed by the Armed Forces of the russian federation since 24 February 2022, Support for Victims of These Crimes and Public Awareness-Raising”, funded by the European Union. During the event, participants will discuss the achievements and challenges faced by civil society in the field of documenting international crimes.

The event will take place on 6 July in Lviv.

Participants: 

• Asier Santillan, EU Delegation to Ukraine;
• Yevhen Zakharov, Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group;
• Ruslan Topolevskyi, Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union;
• Oleksandra Romantsova, Centre for Civil Liberties.

The presentation will also provide an opportunity to outline the next phase of the project. On 7–8 July, a professional seminar will be held in Lviv, bringing together sociologists, public officials, psychologists and human rights defenders to discuss the methodology for interviewing children about violations of their rights during the war.

Languages of the event: Ukrainian and English (simultaneous interpretation).

Participation is possible only upon prior registration.

Background: Since the beginning of russian aggression against Ukraine in 2014, and particularly following the full-scale invasion in 2022, civil society organisations have played a pivotal role in documenting international crimes. During this period, they have recorded more than 100,000 incidents of such crimes, collecting testimonies, evidence and information necessary for holding perpetrators accountable in future proceedings.

• russian crimes
• Lviv

Tetiana Fedorova is originally from Enerhodar, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. Prior to the full-scale russian invasion, she balanced her job at the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant with volunteering for the Ukrainian military. Following February 24, 2022, her son joined the Armed Forces of Ukraine to fight on the front lines. Tetiana herself refused to evacuate her native Enerhodar, believing that the enemy occupation of the city would be temporary.

She recalls that nuclear plant workers were intimidated and forced to submit to the occupiers; those who resisted were killed. When the russians discovered that Tetiana’s son was defending Ukraine, they abducted her from her own home. She endured torture as the russians attempted to extract information about Ukrainian servicemen and volunteers remaining in the city. They also questioned her about ordinary citizens who supported Ukraine. Tetiana takes pride in the fact that, despite the torture, she did not disclose any useful intelligence to the enemy. After a month in captivity, she was released, and she eventually managed to flee the occupied territory with her family.

Tetiana found refuge in Khmelnytskyi Oblast, where she underwent medical treatment and worked with a psychologist. In her new home, she enrolled in sewing classes and handcrafted a pair of small shoes for her dog, Luna. She immediately received orders for pet footwear from other owners. This sparked the idea for her own brand, Luna.animalshop. Tetiana began sewing pet clothes and various costumes, completed a business entrepreneurship course, won a grant, and purchased the necessary equipment. Today, Tetiana continues to run her business, support the military, and await both her son’s return from the war and the liberation of Enerhodar.

Interviews with Tetiana Fedorova can be arranged either online or in person in Khmelnytskyi Oblast by prior appointment.

• casualties
• occupation
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Khmelnytskyi

Nazari Krasovskyi signed a contract with the 12th Azov Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine in 2020. The soldier was in Mariupol when the full-scale invasion began; he defended Azovstal and, alongside his brothers-in-arms, followed command orders and surrendered into captivity in May 2022.

Nazari spent 3.5 years in captivity. To keep his spirits up, the serviceman wrote poems, scratching the lines onto a piece of soap, and whenever the opportunity arose, he transferred the texts onto scraps of paper. He was returned home in August 2025 during a prisoner exchange.

Since then, Nazari has been undergoing rehabilitation at the UNBROKEN National Rehabilitation Center in Lviv. The soldier suffered a severe spinal injury while in captivity.

The serviceman shared that Ilona had been his friend for 15 years. During his rehabilitation, she immediately came to visit Nazari, and he realized he wanted to marry her. Ilona said yes to his proposal.

Interviews with Nazari Krasovskyi can be arranged either online or offline in Lviv by prior agreement. Photo and video materials of the marriage proposal moment are available for journalists upon request.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Lviv

At the beginning of June, 22 dolphins washed ashore in the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park. Scientists later found another 15 dead animals. The information was reported by Ivan Rusev, Doctor of Biological Sciences and head of the research department of the Tuzly Lagoons National Nature Park.

The biologist stresses that the ecosystem is suffering from ongoing hostilities, including mine explosions, bombardments, missile launches and the use of powerful sonars by military vessels. Together with his team, Ivan Rusev documents and records every case of ecocide on a daily basis.

Ivan Rusev is available for interviews both online and in person by prior arrangement.

• animals
• ecology
• russian crimes

Alla and Oleksiy began building their life together in 2021. As a serviceman in the “Azov” Regiment, Oleksiy was frequently deployed on missions.

On the night of February 24, 2022, the couple was scheduled to fly abroad for a vacation. However, just a day prior, the fighter was urgently deployed to Mariupol. It was there that Oleksiy witnessed the beginning of the full-scale invasion, and in May 2022, he and his fellow brothers-in-arms entered captivity following orders to leave the Azovstal steelworks.

Since then, Alla, who never had the chance to officially become Oleksiy’s wife, has been fighting for his freedom and return to Ukraine. For four years now, alongside Oleksiy’s mother, Oksana, she has been anxiously awaiting every prisoner exchange. In 2024, alongside other relatives of captured Azov fighters, Alla traveled to the Vatican, where she met with Pope Francis. The young woman continuously initiates meetings with the Coordinating Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, the National Guard (NSU) command, and representatives of the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

Currently, Oleksiy remains illegally sentenced in russia to 29 years in a maximum-security prison. He faces fabricated charges of shooting a civilian woman in Mariupol and committing acts of terrorism.

Interviews with Alla can be arranged by prior agreement, either online or in person within the Kyiv region.

• casualties
• military
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• women
• Kyiv

A memorial event dedicated to the anniversary of the deaths of State Emergency Service of Ukraine personnel Pavlo Yezhor, Andrii Remennyi and Danylo Skadin will take place at the War Museum on June 7.

On June 6, 2025, russia launched another large-scale attack against Ukraine. At the time, it was one of the most extensive assaults of the full-scale war: the enemy deployed 407 drones of various types and 44 ballistic and cruise missiles. Kyiv and the Kyiv region, as well as the Kharkiv, Poltava, Chernihiv, Rivne, Khmelnytskyi, Volyn, Lviv and Ternopil regions, came under attack.

In the capital, up to 30 people were injured, including nine State Emergency Service employees. Three firefighters from Kyiv’s 18th State Fire and Rescue Unit, who were responding to the aftermath of the strikes, were killed when a russian drone carried out a secondary strike at 4:35 a.m.

Family members, friends and colleagues will remember Pavlo, Andrii and Danylo, who, despite the danger, were always among the first to come to the aid of others.

The discussion will be moderated by Hanna Lehkokonets, head of a museum sector department.

• dead
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Ivan Moisiienko, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor at the Department of Botany of Kherson State University, and board member of the Ukrainian Nature Conservation Group, has conducted nine expeditions with fellow experts across the territory of the former Kakhovka Reservoir following the destruction of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant dam by russian forces in 2023.

Researchers have documented protected plant species, including those listed in Ukraine’s Red Book of endangered species. A unique ecosystem of willow and poplar forests is rapidly developing on the former reservoir bed. This habitat type is protected across Europe under Resolution No. 4 of the Bern Convention.

Experts have also recorded unprecedented tree growth rates. Trees now reach an average height of more than five metres, with some exceeding seven metres. During the most recent expedition, scientists completed 47 geobotanical surveys.

Immediately after the destruction of the Kakhovka dam, researchers identified only 11 plant species in the area. By autumn 2023, that number had risen to 69. Today, more than 350 species have been recorded.

Conservationists are proposing the creation of a biosphere reserve on the site.

By prior arrangement, journalists can interview Ivan Moisiienko either in the Kyiv region or online.

Background: On June 6, 2023, russian forces destroyed the dam of the Kakhovka Hydroelectric Power Plant in Ukraine’s Kherson region. According to the report Rapid Damage and Needs Assessment Following the Kakhovka Dam Disaster, prepared by the United Nations and the Ukrainian government, the disaster caused nearly $14 billion in damages to Ukraine.

• ecology
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The United Nations has for the first time added russia and Israel to its annual blacklist of parties responsible for conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV). The organization documented 310 verified cases of CRSV involving prisoners of war and civilian detainees in russia and in russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Most victims were men.

Since late 2024, the Alumni (Graduates) network — which unites men who survived captivity and torture, alongside groups such as SEMA-Ukraine, 29 December, and Numo, Sestry! — had been advocating for the decision. Oleksii Sivak, founder of the NGO Alumni, says the move is only the beginning of a long path toward real justice and accountability for russia.

Interviews with Oleksii can be arranged in Kyiv, Kherson or online by prior appointment.

Background: Oleksii Sivak is from Kherson, a city that was under russian occupation. A former sailor, he survived captivity and torture. He currently heads the NGO Alumni, which was created to support Ukrainians affected by russian aggression, particularly survivors of torture and conflict-related sexual violence. The organization focuses specifically on supporting civilian men.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kherson
• Kyiv