This blog contains topics of sexual violence, torture, and violations of human rights.
The full-scale invasion and Russian aggression has caused a lot of grief on our Ukrainian land. Russia has not only committed terrible atrocities against the Ukrainian people, but has forced them to leave their homes indefinitely. Currently, we are recording a brutal violation of many articles of the Declaration of Human Rights. Most of these violations have occurred in the territories occupied by Russia. Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in terrible conditions, with a daily risk of being killed, starved, tortured and raped. From the first day of the full-scale invasion to the present day, our state services have been recording cases of sexual violence. People go missing, and bodies discovered in de-occupied regions cannot be identified.
Ukraine, in partnership with various international organizations, is doing everything possible to ensure that Russia faces consequences from the international for these actions. However, it is currently difficult to do this in the territories of Ukraine where Russia has temporarily established its power, as it is not known exactly how many people have already suffered there. Only after the de-occupation of the Kharkiv region in September did Ukrainian search services uncover thousands of acts of human rights violations. The same situation occurred after Ukraine de-occupied the Kherson region. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to imagine what we will see when we liberate other parts of Ukraine from the enemy.
A June 2022 report by the UN Human Rights Office calls the human rights consequences of the Russian Federation's armed attack on Ukraine "shocking". The report documented unlawful killings in more than 30 Ukrainian cities and towns, cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, torture, ill-treatment of prisoners, denial of medical care, and many other violations of international humanitarian law. In the report, members of the UN Monitoring Mission who visited Ukraine confirmed reports by the Ukrainian authorities and numerous witnesses of at least 300 unlawful killings, including executions of civilians in more than 30 locations. These are towns and villages in Kyiv, Chernihiv, Kharkiv and Sumy regions, where the killings took place while these territories were under the control of the armed forces of the Russian Federation in late February and March, the report says. The UN representatives also recorded, verified and confirmed 23 cases of conflict-related sexual violence, including rape, gang rape, torture, forced public undress, and threats of sexual violence. The report states that the monitoring mission found that "most cases were committed in areas controlled by the armed forces of the Russian Federation. Unfortunately, over time, even more such cases began to be recorded, and by the end of 2022, the number of victims, killed, wounded, and tortured had already reached tens of thousands. As of January 22, the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights confirmed the deaths of 7,068 civilians as a result of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and more than 11,000 more have been injured. However, the numbers are likely higher due to the inability to investigate the situation in the temporarily occupied territories.
It is now known that Ukraine, together with more than 30 states, is initiating an event on February 22 at the UN headquarters in New York dedicated to gross human rights violations caused by the Russian war.
Written by Diana Bobrobnyk
Diana is a communications analyst based in Ukraine, who supports Kuja Kuja to reach Ukrainians and listen to their needs. Kuja Kuja is committed to supporting Ukrainians affected by the Russian Invasion and supports UN efforts to hold the Russian Federation accountable for violations of human rights.