~Russia illegally detains 25,000 Kremlin prisoners

According to the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, Dmytro Lubinets, this is the number of civilians abducted by the Russian Federation.

The ZMINA Human Rights Centre has found that at least 21 prisoners require urgent medical care and may die unless they receive it.

During the full-scale invasion, the National Police began investigating the enforced disappearance of 8,800 people.

Russian Children's Ombudsman Maria Lvova-Belova claims Russia has illegally abducted over 700,000 children from Ukraine.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights has identified about one hundred places where abducted civilians are held.

The Mission of the President of Ukraine in the Autonomous Republic of Crimea (Qırım) confirms 217 illegally imprisoned Ukrainian citizens, 131 of whom are Qırımtatarlar.

During the full-scale war, 3,767 Ukrainian citizens, including 168 civilians, were returned to Ukraine.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights reports referring to the captive's wife, Liudmyla. 

Serhii Tarasiuk is a defender of Azovstal. On May 17, 2022, he left the plant's territory along with other defenders by order of the Commander-in-Chief of the Ukrainian Armed Forces. He walked with a cane, and his belongings were carried by a comrade. Serhii Tarasiuk was first held in Olenivka and survived the attack on July 29.

Liudmyla learned from another released Ukrainian POW that her husband Serhii was being held by the Russians in the Kamyshyn No. 2 detention centre in the Volgograd region. In addition to tuberculosis, he has rapidly progressing psoriasis, dental problems and difficulty eating. He has lost a lot of weight due to limited access to food. 

The Suspilne broadcaster report referring to the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

The Russians detained Victoriia Roshchyna on March 16 in the occupied city of Berdiansk. She was released on March 22 after being forced to record a video denying her accusations against the Russian special services. 

In August 2023, Viktoriia Roshchyna went missing in Russian-occupied Ukraine, where she was working on a report. The Russians held her in detention centre No. 2 in Taganrog from at least May until September 2024. On October 10, the Russian Ministry of Defence informed Victoria's father, Volodymyr, of her death. Victoriia was on the exchange list for October 18.

Ukraine is currently working to return Victoriia Roshchina's body to establish the cause of death. The General Prosecutor's Office is investigating the journalist's death under Article 438 Part 2 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine — violation of the laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder.

Crimean Solidarity reports.

Upon his arrival, the Crimean Tatar was immediately placed in pre-trial detention for 14 days for unknown reasons. 

He was detained in March 2019 in connection with the Hizb ut-Tahrir case. On March 18, 2022, the Southern District Military Court sentenced the Crimean Tatar to 14 years' imprisonment on charges of terrorism. On July 7 2023, the Vlasikha Military Court of Appeal upheld the decision of the court of first instance.

Crimean Solidarity reports referring to his wife Khalida Bekirova.

On October 2, he was able to write a letter to his wife. He was denied the right to phone his family. It is known that Bekirov is constantly being held in pre-trial detention on unfounded charges. Khalid's wife lodged a complaint with the Russian Prison Service about her husband's detention in the colony.

Remzi Bekirov was arrested in March 2019 in the Hizb ut-Tahrir case. On March 10, 2022, the Southern District Military Court in Rostov-on-Don sentenced the human rights activist to 19 years imprisonment.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights reports.

Pavlo Zaporozhets is a former Ukrainian law enforcement officer. On May 9, 2022, Russians searched his apartment in the then-occupied Kherson, and he was accused of ‘opposing the Special Military Operation’. 

On August 2, 2022, he was taken to the temporarily occupied Crimea (Qırım), where he was held in a pre-trial detention centre in Simferopol. He was then accused of ‘international terrorism’. In November 2023, the Southern District Military Court of Rostov sentenced Pavlo to 13 years in prison, ten of which he will spend in a maximum security colony for ‘international terrorism’.

ZMINA Human Rights Centre reports.

Maksym Butkevych has been involved in human rights activities for more than 20 years. After the outbreak of full-scale war in March 2022, Butkevych joined the Ukrainian Armed Forces and was captured by Russia in June of that year.

On March 10 2023, an illegal "court" in the temporarily occupied part of the Luhansk region sentenced the human rights activist and military officer to 13 years in prison for allegedly injuring two women by firing a grenade launcher into the entrance of a residential building while in Sievierodonetsk. 

On October 18, 2024, Maksym Butkevych was released from Russian captivity as part of a prisoner exchange between Russia and Ukraine.