526 civilians abducted by the Russian Federation in the Kherson region remain in Russian captivity

Since its inception, the Media Initiative for Human Rights has been documenting cases of abduction of civilians in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine. Russia and its proxies have been committing these crimes since 2014. During a full-scale invasion, there were many times more of them.

The first kidnappings and illegal detention of Ukrainians in Russian places of detention lasted for several days. However, since 2015, the time spent in custody has increased dramatically. So far, representatives of the Media Initiative for Human Rights have identified more than 100 people who were kidnapped by Russia even before the start of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine and who are still being held captive.

Those who were abducted by the Russians after February 24, 2022, are much more. As of November 4, 2024, the Media Initiative for Human Rights identified at least 1,932 such Ukrainians. Among them are people of different sexes and ages. Some have been behind bars since the beginning of the occupation, that is, for more than two and a half years.

Thus, at least 288 people, abducted during the occupation of Kyiv, Chernihiv, and Sumy regions, remain in captivity. These territories were de-occupied as early as April 2022, but the Russians still hold 228 residents of Kyiv Region, 25 of Chernihiv Region, and 35 of Sumy Region.

The Media Initiative for Human Rights identified the largest number of abducted civilians in the Kherson region — at least 526, of which 204 were abducted in Kherson itself.

After the abduction of civilians, they can be kept in places of detention in the occupied territories of Ukraine for a certain time, but the general practice of the Russians is to deport as many people as possible to the Russian Federation. Ukrainians are tortured in almost all Russian prisons and detention centers. Subsequently, illegal trials on fabricated cases are initiated against arbitrarily detained civilians. This entire system of crimes—illegal detention, abduction, detention, torture, deportation, illegal transfer, and fabricated trials—has the hallmarks of a crime against humanity.