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Why transferring minors from Ukraine to the NGCA and russia is against international law, and what the family of activist Sergiy Tsygipa detained in Kherson has to say after watching a video of him shown by pro-russian channels – find out in this digest.

Recently, 11-year-old Kira Obedynska returned to Ukraine. The girl used to live in Mariupol with her father, who died. On March 25, she was injured in a mine explosion while trying to get out of the city. She was taken to a hospital in Mariupol, already occupied by the russians, and then to Donetsk. Along with Kira, 9-year-old Ilya Matviyenko returned to Ukraine. According to various estimates, there may be between 40 and 200 thousand Ukrainian children in russia right now, taken there under the guise of evacuation.

According to Darya Kasyanova, program director of the charity SOS Children’s Villages, some of the displaced orphans still have family in Ukraine.

«These are children from foster families and family-type orphanages, injured children from Mariupol and those who were in Mariupol health and recreation centers. They were taken to Donetsk through Mangush. Some of them are in recreation centers in russia already; those are used as temporary accommodation in Rostov Oblast, Taganrog and around Taganrog,» Darya Kasyanova told MIHR.

 

International law does allow the transfer of children in wartime under certain circumstances, says Kateryna Rashevska, lawyer of the Regional Center for Human Rights. These circumstances are given in Article 49 of the Geneva Convention relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War:

🔹 the need for medical attention, when there is a threat to the life or health of a child;
🔹 military reasons. For instance, when a military unit is stationed near a kindergarten.

However, according to Kateryna, even if such circumstances existed, russia would be required to discuss with Ukraine where the children should be transferred. There have been no such discussions, which shows that the evacuation was done in violation of IHL. More than that – the deportation of children is an element of genocide. See Kateryna’s explanation in this material.

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Two months have passed since activist and volunteer Sergiy Tsygipa was detained. He disappeared on March 12 when, accompanied by his dog, he went to the neighboring town of Tavriysk to bring medicines and food to the locals. Recently, a russian TV channel showed a video with Sergiy, in which he says that he’s in russia. The activist’s wife, Olena, believes that the video was made under coercion. While watching, she noticed signs of torture on him.

«I saw two broken fingers, because there’s a noticeable greenish color to the knuckles of his right hand. His right hand was broken, I understand, because during the whole interview, whenever he moved it, he would immediately hold it with his left. The shirt is too big, so I think he has broken ribs too,» says Olena.

«I saw two broken fingers, because there’s a noticeable greenish color to the knuckles of his right hand. His right hand was broken, I understand, because during the whole interview, whenever he moved it, he would immediately hold it with his left. The shirt is too big, so I think he has broken ribs too,» says Olena.

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During the occupation of Trostyanets in Sumy Oblast, looking for veterans of the Anti-Terrorist Operation, Russian troops were detaining innocent bystanders. According to witnesses, people were taken to the local railway station and police station. However, once the Russians withdrew from the city, some of the hostages were nowhere to be found, alive or dead.

Trostyanets resident Oleksandr Sytnyk was detained by russian soldiers on March 12. Oleksandr was headed home to get his things and leave the city. After that, he couldn’t be reached. When his family asked the russians about his whereabouts, they said they would return him – but they didn’t. Instead, they searched their home. According to the family, they were looking for weapons and wanted to check the computer as well, but were unable to because the power was out.

Oleksandr’s namesake, Sergiy Sytnyk, also had his residence searched. According to his sister Tetyana, the soldiers paid him a visit more than once.

«They knew that Sergiy held a military rank. They said they had lists of people like that. Eventually, they found Sergiy too. Our mother was at home, and she understood from the men’s conversation that they were not russian soldiers, they came here from the DPR and LPR,» says Tetyana Sytnyk.

The families of the missing men tried to find them on their own. It became known later that russians had indeed set up improvised prisonsat the local police station and railway station. In addition to holding hostages, the locations were also used for interrogations.

«There was a hospital of sorts for wounded russians in the basement of the railway station. When we went down there after Trostyanets was liberated, we found a lot of makeshift beds, drips and traces of blood. Apparently, there were many wounded there, and it seems that many died there,» says Igor, a local.

Trostyanets resident Oleksandr Faizov was one of those held at the railway station. At first he was the only one there, then new hostages started arriving. As Oleksandr told MIHR, all detainees were subjected to beatings, and some were eventually taken away somewhere. When Trostyanets was liberated, he was able to leave the railway station on his own. The missing men, however, never returned, nor could any bodies be found anywhere. They were apparently taken to pre-trial detention centers in russia.

On April 19, 2022, a prisoner exchange took place, and Oleksandr Sytnyk returned to Ukraine. It turned out that he, along with other hostages and wounded Russian soldiers that required urgent medical attention, had been put in a vehicle and taken to russia. The hostages spent the whole trip blindfolded. There weren’t any stops along the way. All they knew was that they were being taken somewhere. Eventually, it became clear that their destination was the SIZO in Stary Oskol, Belgorod Oblast, Russia.

«The russians didn’t know what to do with us. It was obvious that we were captured only for numbers, so that they had someone to exchange. Then we were told that they “had the right to keep us only for three months,» says Oleksandr.

In what conditions the residents of Trostyanets were detained, read in the investigation.
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Russian troops continue detaining civilians in the newly occupied territories in southern Ukraine. Now they use official pretexts for the detentions, such as «violation of law and order» or «violation of curfew.» Nobody bothers to explain the specifics of these violations. Furthermore, it’s not just activists and ATO/JFO veterans that are being detained, but also men that have nothing to do with military service and never participated in any anti-occupation rallies.

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A man that was lucky to be released from unlawful detention from Kakhovka in the Kherson region told his family that more than 10 civilians are being held at the Kakhovka police station. Some of them have been there for weeks.

«They are being tortured with tasers and severely beaten, especially on the kidneys,» says the man’s family.

History has seen examples of war criminals getting life sentences for the torture of civilians, says Yevgenia Andreyuk, human rights adviser to the World Organization Against Torture. One such example is Syrian military officer Anwar Raslan, who was the supervisor of a prison in Syria and was sentenced to life for the torture and killings that took place there.

«When Syrian refugees started fleeing for Europe, they reported these crimes to German law enforcement. And when these people (the then suspects – ed.) arrived in Germany, they were immediately arrested. The victims they tortured testified in court,» says Yevgenia.

***

Russian military continues forcibly deporting Ukrainians to Russia and occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions. Different sources report different numbers of deportees, and it’s difficult to say how many Ukrainians exactly have been deported so far, as they are not registered in Russia. According to witnesses, Russian troops are creating conditions in which going to Russia or occupied areas of Donetsk and Luhansk regions presents the only chance of survival. Once there, Ukrainians are held in so-called filtration camps and questioned.

Why some Ukrainians are unable to leave Russia, what goes on in filtration camps, and what rights are being trampled there – we were talking about this on  Twitter Spaces. Follow the announcements on our Twitter.

***

In the liberated Chernihiv Oblast, witnesses reported the abduction of Mykyta Buzinov, a young man from Mykhailo-Kotsyubynske. Russian soldiers came to his family’s house in the occupied village on March 4. The detainees were told they were suspected of working with Ukrainian troops – allegedly supplying them with some sort of information. Mykyta, his brother Volodymyr and their mother were taken away for interrogation.

«They forced my brother to his knees on one side, me on the other. They started shooting and threatened to kill us. I believe they wanted us to confess to helping our army,» says Volodymyr.

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UHHRU participation in the creation of information materials was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the framework of the Human Rights in Action Program implemented by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.

USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID’s work demonstrates American generosity, and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience, and advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity. USAID has partnered with Ukraine since 1992, providing more than $3 billion in assistance. USAID’s current strategic priorities include strengthening democracy and good governance, promoting economic development and energy security, improving health care systems, and mitigating the effects of the conflict in the east. For additional information about USAID in Ukraine, please call USAID’s Development Outreach and Communications Office at: +38 (044) 521-5753. You may also visit our website: http://www.usaid.gov/ukraine or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.

Russian soldiers breaking into Ukrainian churches to conduct illegal searches. So far, we know about the abduction of at least ten priests, most belonging to the Ukrainian Orthodox Church – in particular, in Kherson Oblast. The Russian military there is also resorting to detaining and torturing civilians, while in Kyiv Oblast, the locals are busy calculating the damage done to infrastructure. More on this below.

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Archpriest Vasyl Vyrozub, clergyman of the Odesa Eparchy of the Ukrainian Orthodox Church, was taken hostage along with the crew of the ship Sapfir while on a rescue mission to Zmiinyi Island launched after the reports on the death of the border guards there. His wife was not even aware that Vasyl had been on that ship.

“It was a top secret mission. I didn’t know that my husband was on that ship. I found out only when he called me and said that he had been captured and needed help,” says Lyudmyla, wife of Archpriest Vasyl Vyrozub.

An exchange of prisoners took place on March 24, after which 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors from the Sapfir returned home, but Vasyl Vyrozub was not among them. “I have been in contact with representatives of the Red Cross, with government officials about an exchange. But so far there’s been no results. Negotiations are still ongoing,” Bishop Afanasiy told MIHR.

By detaining members of clergy, Russians are violating several norms at once, says Mykola Kikkas, expert of the Regional Center for Human Rights:
– Fourth Geneva Convention;
– provisions of international humanitarian law.
They will be held accountable for this in Ukrainian courts under Article 438 of Ukraine’s Criminal Code, as well as by the International Criminal Court.

“Although, when in the custody of the enemy state, a chaplain is not considered a PoW, he is still entitled to all rights and privileges guaranteed by the Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of 1949,” explains the lawyer.

There could be a number of motives for taking priests hostage. To name a few, according to Mykola Kikkas:
– forcing them to cooperate;
– keeping them silent through intimidation;
– pressuring religious denominations the occupying power finds undesirable;
– demanding a ransom or adding to the “prisoner exchange fund.”

***

The occupants continue detaining people in Kherson Oblast. Their family members have been gathering near captured administrative buildings in the dozens. Some say that the prisoners have been subjected to torture. Svitlana’s husband, ex-military, was detained when he went out for gasoline. Russian soldiers escorted him home a couple of hours later.

“His face was covered in blood. His nose was broken, his jaw was broken,” his wife Svitlana told MIHR. The soldiers searched their apartment, then put bags on Svitlana, her husband and their son’s heads, tied their hands and took them to the police station. There, the family was interrogated as the Ukrainian soldier was tortured in the next room.

Beatings and inhuman treatment of civilians is a war crime under the Rome Statute, says Roman Martynowsky, expert of the Regional Center for Human Rights. His advice for witnesses is to take photos and videos of torture if possible, as well as to memorize the details: who’s doing the interrogation and where it takes place.

***

Meanwhile, the Ukrainian military is inspecting liberated settlements in Kyiv Oblast. The village of Horenka, while spared an actual occupation, still suffered significant damage. According to the locals, they had air strikes, Grad and mortar shelling. Over 50% of people’s homes were destroyed.

“I counted three Grad shellings,” recalls an 80-year-old resident of Horenka. According to him, the village survived thanks to volunteers. They provided humanitarian aid when the authorities abandoned the village at the beginning of the war.

Additional information.

In conjunction with UHHRU, MIHR is doing a newsletter containing the most important facts.

Sign up for the Ukrainian newsletter HERE.

Sign up for the English newsletter HERE.

Please check your spam and advertising folder after subscribing.

UHHRU participation in the creation of information materials was made possible by the generous support of the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in the framework of the Human Rights in Action Program implemented by the Ukrainian Helsinki Human Rights Union.

USAID is the world’s premier international development agency and a catalytic actor driving development results. USAID’s work demonstrates American generosity, and promotes a path to recipient self-reliance and resilience, and advances U.S. national security and economic prosperity. USAID has partnered with Ukraine since 1992, providing more than $3 billion in assistance. USAID’s current strategic priorities include strengthening democracy and good governance, promoting economic development and energy security, improving health care systems, and mitigating the effects of the conflict in the east. For additional information about USAID in Ukraine, please call USAID’s Development Outreach and Communications Office at: +38 (044) 521-5753. You may also visit our website: http://www.usaid.gov/ukraine or our Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/USAIDUkraine.