Russia’s armed aggression against Ukraine is accompanied by systematic and unpunished human rights violations, which creates dangerous precedents for other states and threatens the global legal order.
This was stated by a representative of the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights in response to a request from The Ukrainian Review.
The Russians openly ignore and violate international humanitarian law, in particular the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War.
The massive deaths of civilians due to Russian aggression and occupation of Ukraine have raised the issue of war crimes investigations and trials of Russian military and political leadership and perpetrators. Currently, Ukraine, together with its partners, has initiated a number of international legal processes to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Here are some of the key violations:
- Killings and violence against civilians:
Russian forces have targeted residential areas, schools, hospitals, and other civilian objects, killing thousands of civilians, including children. They are also accused of numerous cases of extrajudicial killings, torture and executions of civilians.
- Illegal detentions and deportations:
Thousands of Ukrainians have been unlawfully detained, deported to Russia, or disappeared.
- Violation of the right to freedom of speech and peaceful assembly:
Russian authorities have closed down independent media outlets, blocked access to the Internet, and violently dispersed peaceful protests. Thousands of people in Russia have been detained or sentenced to prison for publicly criticizing the war in Ukraine.
- Violation of the right to a fair trial:
Russian authorities have held sham trials of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians. People accused of crimes against the Russian state are often denied access to lawyers and fair trials.
- Violation of the right to property:
Russian troops are destroying thousands of homes, businesses, and seizing property of Ukrainians who have been forced to flee their homes.
- Violation of the right to education:
Millions of children in Ukraine are deprived of the opportunity to receive education due to the destruction of schools and universities.
- Harassment of religious freedoms:
Russian authorities restrict the activities of religious groups in Ukraine that do not support the war.
Some religious leaders in Ukraine have been detained or disappeared. According to open sources, in 2024, the Russian authorities in the occupied territories of Ukraine continued the practice of destroying Ukrainian churches, arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of Ukrainian religious leaders. Those priests, pastors, imams, etc. who did not agree to collaborate and refused to submit to Russian religious centers are subject to repression.
- Violation of children’s rights:
Thousands of Ukrainian children have been killed, injured or separated from their families. Russian authorities are also accused of forcibly deporting Ukrainian children to Russia.
- Violation of the rights of people with disabilities:
Persons with disabilities face difficulties in evacuating from the combat zones and receiving assistance.
- Violation of the right to freedom of movement:
Millions of Ukrainians have been forced to flee their homes and become refugees because of the war. Russian authorities artificially complicated the evacuation of people from the occupied territories and deported them to Russia.
It should be noted that this is not a complete list of crimes committed by Russia in Ukraine.
To bring the perpetrators to justice, Ukraine, together with its partners, has initiated a number of international legal processes.
For example, on March 3, 2022, the International Criminal Court opened an investigation into the situation in Ukraine and began the work of investigators.
Also in June of this year, the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe began drafting an agreement on the establishment of a special tribunal for the crime of aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine.
At this point, it can be stated that Russia has violated most of the existing norms of international humanitarian law, cynically attacking not only a sovereign state but also the international security system based on the UN Charter. However, the full list of war crimes committed by the Russian Federation will be known after the results of the Special Tribunal’s investigation.
