Themes by tag: russian crimes
On July 11, Odesa will host the opening of “Kherson: NOT/Stolen”, an exhibition based on studies and homages inspired by artworks stolen by russia. The project was conceived as an exploration of the collection of the looted Kherson Art Museum and was created by artists who continue to live and work in Ukraine despite ongoing russian attacks and destruction.
In art, a study is both an exploration and a preparatory sketch. A homage is a work created as a tribute to another artist. It is neither an exact copy nor a replica, but rather an expression of respect and gratitude to those who made the world a better place through their art.
The exhibition “NOT/Stolen. Studies and Homages” was shown from November to December 2025 at Zenyk Art Gallery in Lviv, from February to April 2026 at the War Museum in Kyiv, and from May to June 2026 at the Ukrainian Canadian Art Foundation KUMF Gallery in Toronto, Canada.
On July 11, Kherson will be brought to Odesa through new works by Ukrainian artists.
Mykyta Shastun joined the military several years before the full-scale invasion. He served in the 56th Brigade, fought on the outskirts of Donetsk Airport, and trained to become a sergeant.
After the full-scale invasion began, he and his brother Ihor joined the Azov Regiment to defend Mariupol. On April 1, his brother was killed. In May 2022, Mykyta and his comrades were ordered to lay down their weapons and surrender.
He ended up in the Olenivka colony in the occupied Donetsk oblast. He recalls extreme hardship: prisoners starving due to a lack of food and water. Soon, the Azov fighters were moved to another barracks where an explosion rocked the facility at night. Miraculously, Mykyta survived with only a concussion. He helped wounded comrades, though the russians provided no medical aid. He was then transferred from Olenivka to Taganrog, russia, before finally returning to Ukraine on December 31, 2022.
Journalists can contact Mykyta Shastun online by prior arrangement.
Background: The defense of Mariupol lasted 86 days, 82 of which were in complete encirclement. From May 16 to 20, 2022, the Mariupol garrison received orders to cease defending the city and surrender.
On the night of July 29, 2022, russia committed a terrorist act blowing up the Olenivka penal colony barracks holding Ukrainian POWs. At least 50 defenders of Azovstal were killed, and more than a hundred were injured.
On July 7, Media Center Ukraine will host the presentation of the analytical report “Loyalty Under Coercion.” Over the past year, lawyers from the Regional Center for Human Rights have examined one of the key instruments used to suppress dissent and maintain control in the occupied territories — the prosecution of people under articles on the “discrediting” of the russian army in Crimea and Sevastopol. Violations of these provisions are punishable by fines or prison sentences of up to 15 years. In practice, russia has created legal mechanisms that allow it to punish anyone deemed “disloyal” to the occupation authorities or opposed to their policies.
After analyzing more than 1,500 decisions issued by occupation authorities, the team concluded that russia has established a system in the occupied territories that suppresses freedom of expression and violates the right to a fair trial. On the one hand, these measures are intended to “legitimize” russian rule; on the other, they are designed to create a climate of constant fear and silence.
Speakers:
- Alina Hrihoras, Head of the Occupied Territories Unit at the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine;
- Olha Skrypnyk, Chair of the Board of the Crimean Human Rights Group;
- Kseniia Korniienko, Senior Lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights and co-author of the report;
- Volodymyr Viazovtsev, Lawyer at the Regional Center for Human Rights and co-author of the report.
Background: The project was implemented by the Regional Center for Human Rights with financial support from the National Endowment for Democracy. The content of the report does not necessarily reflect the views of the donor.
While traveling to one of the communities where they were providing medical care in Ukraine’s Zaporizhzhia region, the FRIDA Ukraine medical team witnessed yet another russian attack on civilians. The doctors saw an enemy drone strike a combine harvester working in a field.
A 30-year-old man was injured in the attack. The combine caught fire, and the surrounding wheat field also ignited. FRIDA Ukraine doctors provided the victim with first aid before emergency responders arrived.
“We picked him up, moved to a safer location, and provided first aid. He had a blast injury, and his face and legs had been hit by shrapnel. We then waited for the emergency medical team to arrive and handed him over to the paramedics,” said Nataliia Domochkina, a pediatric dentist with FRIDA Ukraine.
By prior arrangement, journalists can interview the doctors in Kyiv and receive photos and video materials.
Background: FRIDA Ukraine’s medical volunteer missions are regular deployments of multidisciplinary medical teams to frontline and remote communities across Ukraine. Each mission brings together more than 20 specialists, including neurologists, surgeons, gynecologists, internists, dermatologists, and other healthcare professionals. During these visits, local residents receive free medical examinations, consultations, and laboratory tests. More recently, the team has also introduced cancer screening services.
Following a russian strike in December 2023, the Odesa rowing club Chornomorets was left with almost no sports equipment. Two russian drones hit the base where over a hundred boats were stored, leaving the club on the brink of closure.
However, the European rowing community stepped in to help. Support came from clubs in the Netherlands, which organized a boat donation drive and continue to fund annual two-week training camps in the Netherlands for children. Rowers from Germany and Lithuania also contributed. Furthermore, thanks to support from the UK, the club received a coastal rowing boat (a coxed quadruple scull) and four 20-person dragon boats.
Today, Chornomorets is open to both children and adults, and veterans are also welcomed to participate in training sessions.
Journalists are invited to cover these training sessions.
Background: Dragon boat racing is a spectacular team sport featuring large canoes decorated with dragon heads and tails.
Ivan Kucher dreamed of a military career from a young age. While he was completing his mandatory service, russia occupied Crimea and attacked Ukraine’s eastern regions. His family hoped he would be kept away from the front line, but Ivan had other plans; as soon as his mandatory service ended, he signed a contract with the Armed Forces of Ukraine. He told his mother he was undergoing training, even as he was already fighting russian forces in the Luhansk region.
After his contract expired, Ivan settled in Kyiv. However, following the start of the full-scale russian invasion, he rejoined his former “Donbas” battalion to defend Ukraine in the east once again.
In late April 2022, Ivan was taken prisoner. Later, reports emerged that he might have been killed, though his military unit refuted this information and officially declared him missing in action.
Released Ukrainian prisoners recounted hearing about Ivan Kucher while in russian detention, though they had not seen him personally. In February 2023, his mother spotted him in a piece of russian propaganda footage and provided the material to the Red Cross and the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
Ivan spent 1,388 days in captivity and was finally returned home on February 5, 2025, as part of a prisoner exchange. He is currently awaiting a medical clearance from the Military Medical Commission to return to service.
Interviews with Ivan Kucher can be arranged both online and in person in the Lviv region by prior appointment.
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.
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.
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.
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.
