‘Climate of fear’: UN accuses Russia of abuses in occupied Ukraine
Al Jazeera
In its first in-depth report on the situation in occupied Ukraine, UN says it found evidence of intimidation, arbitrary detention and torture.
Russia has tortured and arbitrarily detained people in the parts of eastern Ukraine it occupies, creating a “climate of fear” and suppressing Ukrainian identity, according to the United Nations.
The UN’s Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) was denied entry to Russian-occupied Ukraine and based its report on remote and in-person interviews with more than 2,300 witnesses and victims.
Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has seized large tracts of southern and eastern Ukraine and currently occupies just over 17 percent of the country.
In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk in a move rejected by Kyiv and most of the international community.
“Many people living under occupation have endured intimidation and repression, facing a constant threat of violence, detention, and punishment,” the report, which was released on Wednesday, concluded.
