Themes by tag: russian crimes

These events are set to unfold across at least 16 cities in Ukraine.

On March 15, demonstrations are planned in Khmelnytskyi and Krolevets (Sumy region). 

The following day, March 16, actions will unfold in Dnipro, Pavlohrad, Vinnytsia, and Zaporizhia. 

March 17 will see gatherings in Kyiv, Kharkiv, Kremenchuk, Kovel, Ovruch (Zhytomyr region), Kryvyi Rih, Ternopil, Rivne, Ivano-Frankivsk, and Drohobych.

These events are spearheaded by families of prisoners of war from the besieged Mariupol garrison.

For reference: On March 16, 2022, Russian forces dropped an air bomb on the Mariupol Drama Theater, where civilians, including children, sought refuge since the onset of the full-blown war. The devastating air strike resulted in the loss of several hundred lives.

• casualties
• dead
• prisoners
• russian crimes

The Kyiv Regional Mental Health Center was captured by the occupiers at the beginning of russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The russian military lived in the facility and stole valuable equipment from the center, which was badly damaged.

After the de-occupation, the restoration of the medical facility began: in particular, a medical and psychological rehabilitation department was opened at the end of last year. It was created on the basis of one of the branches of the center, which suffered the most during the full-scale invasion. Here, the experts will help military personnel, their relatives and civilians who suffered from the aggression of the russian federation. In total, more than 20 types of rehabilitation services will be provided to patients, including those making use of VR glasses.

Recently, Dobrobat volunteers worked in one of the center’s departments: they removed all the flooring, dismantled old doors and door frames. Thus, they prepared the place for further high-quality restoration works.

Journalists can learn more about the operation and restoration of the center, hold interviews with the management of the institution, talk with doctors and, if possible, patients.

For reference: Kyiv Regional Mental Health Center is a specialized medical institution that provides qualified inpatient medical examination, treatment and both social and labor rehabilitation for patients with mental disorders.

• casualties
• doctors
• reconstruction
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

The Center for Civil Liberties cordially extends an invitation to the forthcoming presentation entitled “Strategy for the Release of Illegally Detained Civilians and Find Missing Persons as a Result of Russian Aggression.” Scheduled for March 14, this event will take place at the Media Center Ukraine — Ukrinform in Kyiv. 

Speakers of the event:

– Mykhailo Savva, member of the expert council Center for Civil Liberties;

– Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties;

– Viktoriya Petruk, representative of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War (KSHPPV). 

Event accreditation is required.

For context: Russia is currently holding more than 7,000 civilians in the occupied territories and within the Russian Federation without legal basis. Many individuals have been detained under vague charges of “resistance to a special military operation” without formal accusations, and the majority lack access to legal representation. Reports indicate widespread instances of mistreatment and torture against these detainees. 

Since the commencement of Russia’s comprehensive aggression against Ukraine, only 160 civilians have been released in prisoner exchanges, as reported on January 4, 2024.

• casualties
• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Scientists of the V. V. Tarnovskyi Chernihiv Regional Historical Museum continue to make records of historical artifacts in the village of Yahidne in Chernihiv oblast. (In the spring of 2022, the occupiers kept more than 300 local residents in inhumane conditions for almost a month in the basement of the school).

Specialists have been making trips to the school in Yahidne since September of last year. During this time, they examined and described more than 1,000 artifacts, which include: clothes, shoes, personal belongings, backpacks, books, boxes from enemy dry rations, tubes of antiseptics, russian newspapers, wooden pallets that the prisoners had to sit and sleep on and even plastic water bottles, which people had to use as a toilet. Experts have already finished describing all the rooms in the basement. And now they are still documenting (photographing and making records) artifacts on the territory of the settlement, including: remnants of enemy equipment, uniforms and ammunition boxes. They are also in communication with local residents.

All items studied by the scientists will remain in place. The authorities plan to create a memorial complex in Yahidne, and the school basement, where the prisoners were kept, will be a part of it.

Journalists have the opportunity to learn more and join the trip of the museum’s scientific staff to cover their work.

For reference: The village of Yahidne is located near Chernihiv. At the start of the full-scale invasion, the russians set up a command point in a local school. In its basement, they kept local residents — 299 adults and 67 children — for almost a month. (Almost the entire population of the village). The area of the basement is 197 square meters. Due to the lack of space, people had to sleep sitting up, and they also had trouble breathing. Ten people died then.

In February, the famous American TIME magazine released a cover with the Yahidne village basement.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Chernihiv

The founders of the T4P (Tribunal for putin) initiative — the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group, the Center for Civil Liberties, the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union— and Ukrainian Crisis Media Center invite journalists to discuss the issue of mass abduction and detention of Ukrainian civilians by the russian military on February 27 in Kyiv. The scale of the problem indicates that it is a target policy of the russian authorities to destroy the Ukrainian people.

Topics for discussion:

▪ Large-scale detention of Ukrainian civilians by the russian occupation authorities is a war crime committed by the russian federation

▪ What happens to civilian hostages after detention?

▪ What to do if your loved one is taken hostage? Instructions for relatives of civilian hostages

▪ What to do to facilitate the release of civilian hostages?

▪ Where should the family turn for psychological support?

Speakers:

• Yevgeniy Zakharov, Director at the Kharkiv Human Rights Protection Group
• Oleksandr Pavlichenko, Executive Director of the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union
• Nataliia Yashchuk, Project Management Coordinator at the Center for Civil Liberties
• Tetiana Marina, a representative of Civilians in Captivity NGO
• Olena Tsyhipa, the wife of illegally convicted activist Serhii Tsyhipa
• Anna Mushtukova, “Our Closest People” initiative group

The event requires accreditation.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On the morning of February 24, just as two years ago, the Irpin city council will hold a session. Just as then, the session will be short. The only issue on the agenda is the allocation of additional aid for the military.

A moment of silence will be observed in the city. Later, everyone will gather on the “Road of Life” – Romanivka Bridge to express gratitude to those who helped save thousands of citizens, defended the hero city of Irpin, and to commemorate those who gave their lives for Ukraine.

Journalists can find out more about the start time of the events.

For reference: in February-March 2022, the city of Irpin, Kyiv region, became a battlefield in the russian offensive on Kyiv. One third of Irpin was occupied, and it was here that the Armed Forces of Ukraine and the Territorial Defense Forces managed to stop the russians.

In the first days of the full-scale invasion, the civilians of Irpin were being evacuated through the Romanivka bridge. Then the russian army attacked the bridge, which made evacuation even more difficult. The Romanivka bridge was restored in November 2023, and opened for all types of transport.

The reconstruction of Irpin is still ongoing.

• casualties
• occupation
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

With backing from the Ukrainian President and spearheaded by the Ukrainian State Film Agency, the Ukrainian National Film Festival “Cinema for Victory”, showcasing films created during the Russia-Ukraine war, commemorates the tenth anniversary of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the second anniversary of full-blown warfare.

The primary objective of the 2024 Cinema for Victory Film Festival is to promote documentary works created during the Russia-Ukraine war. This year’s lineup will spotlight films exposing Russian war crimes and presenting firsthand accounts of Ukrainian experiences.

Positioned as a platform for informational resistance countering Russian aggression and facilitating the development of wartime content, the Cinema for Victory Film Festival aims to foster collaboration and knowledge-sharing within the film community.

Attendance requires pre-accreditation. 

Further information to be disclosed post-accreditation for security purposes.

• culture
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 21, Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform will host a presentation of the analytical report entitled: “Rescue mission: what is happening in russian captivity and how to prevent captured Ukrainian soldiers from dying.”

During the presentation, the Media Initiative for Human Rights will present the analytical report on the testimonies of prisoners released in prisoner exchanges, who claim that Ukrainian soldiers died in russian captivity as a result of beatings or torture. They also claim that some prisoners committed suicides due to psychological, sexual or other types of violence in captivity. In response to the MIHR’s inquiry about the number of Ukrainians who died in russian captivity from February 24, 2022 to November 16, 2023, the Ministry of Reintegration of the Temporarily Occupied Territories of Ukraine stated 49 people.

Participants:

– Tetiana Katrychenko, Executive Director of the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR);

– Maria Klymyk, MIHR journalist;

– Anastasiia Hondiul, wife of an Azov regiment soldier who was heavily injured in the Olenivka barrack, Olenivka Families Community NGO;

– Bohdan Slobodian, witness to a Ukrainian serviceman’s death in russian captivity;

– Andrii Yakovlev, lawyer, MIHR international law expert;

The event requires registration.

• prisoners
• russian crimes
• Kyiv

On February 21, Civil Network OPORA will hold a reflective discussion entitled “russians’ cultural policy in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine” in Kyiv. Everyone is invited to discuss the consequences of the deliberate policies aimed at destruction of Ukrainian culture and the forced imposition of russian culture.

During the event, Civil Network OPORA will present a report, which is the first to attempt the best possible assessment of the cultural policy of the occupation authorities in the territories of Donetsk and Luhansk regions occupied since 2014. The report also describes the “Crimean scenario” of cultural occupation, which is currently being implemented in the occupied parts of Kherson and Zaporizhia regions.

Participants of the discussion:

• Anasatasia Romaniuk, digital platforms analyst at Civil Network OPORA;
• Olga Snopok, digital platforms analyst at Civil Network OPORA;
• Mariam Naiem, cultural studies expert and postcolonialism researcher (online);
• Anton Liagusha, Candidate of Historical Sciences, Dean of the Graduate Department of Social Sciences and Humanities of the Kyiv School of Economics;
• Oksana Sarzhevska-Kravchenko, Director at IZOLYATSIA Platform for Cultural Initiatives.

The event requires accreditation.

For reference: the russian federation pursues a deliberate policy of changing the identity of Ukrainians in the occupied territories. In parallel with the active hostilities, the russians have been destroying Ukrainian culture under occupation since 2014.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv

Starting from February 19 to May 19, 2024, the Letters to a Free Crimea initiative will kick off in Ukraine and abroad, rallying Ukrainians and global citizens to pen letters of solidarity to Crimean political prisoners unlawfully held by Russia.

On February 19, the campaign will be officially unveiled at a press conference hosted at the Media Center Ukraine – Ukrinform.

The Letters to a Free Crimea initiative aims to be a reminder of the plight of Ukrainian prisoners in Kremlin custody and to provide them with much-needed words of encouragement during their confinement. Additionally, these letters serve as a poignant message to prison authorities that each Ukrainian citizen is valued, and society is closely monitoring their treatment.

During the event, organizers will delve into the initiative’s specifics, detailing how both Ukrainians and individuals from abroad can actively participate. They will also reveal the staggering number of Crimean hostages detained by Russia, outlining their present circumstances and emphasizing the critical assistance they desperately need.

Speakers:

• Larysa Denysenko, Ukrainian writer, lawyer, human rights activist, ambassador of political prisoner Remzi Bekirov, member of the Executive Board of PEN Ukraine;
• Anna Sytnikova, Chief Consultant of Crimean Platform Support Service at the Mission of the President of Ukraine in the AR of Crimea;
• Viktoria Nesterenko, Project Manager at ZMINA Human Rights Center.

For reference: As February 24, 2024, marks the grim two-year anniversary of Russia’s criminal incursion into Ukraine. It stands as the apex of a decade-long war of aggression, which actually dates back to February 20, 2014, beginning with the annexation of Crimea. Russian forces invaded Ukrainian Crimea without any identifying markings and, after that, seized control of the peninsula back then. Subsequently, these events escalated into war in eastern Ukraine.

• russian crimes
• Kyiv