Russians have deprived 148 Ukrainians from Crimea and Kherson region of their freedom on fabricated cases

In the occupied Crimea and part of the Kherson region, Russian security forces are holding at least 148 Ukrainians behind bars. The repressions are being covered up by fabricated cases of “espionage” and “sabotage”.

This is evidenced by a study by the Crimean Human Rights Group.

In the occupied territories of Crimea and part of the Kherson region, at least 148 Ukrainians are being held in prisons on charges of “sabotage” and “espionage”. Among them are citizens detained in Crimea since 2014, as well as at least 45 people kidnapped after February 24, 2022 in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson region and taken to Crimean detention centers.

According to the FSB of the Russian Federation, the detainees were preparing sabotage, storing weapons or spying for Ukraine. Human rights activists have documented numerous violations: the use of torture, pressure to obtain “confessions”, the absence of the presumption of innocence, and the publication of video confessions in Russian media.

In 2025, Russian courts and occupation courts in the occupied territories passed at least 27 sentences. Among the most high-profile: life imprisonment for Mykola Dzhos (Zaporizhzhya region) and Volodymyr Zloba (Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation). Other convicts received terms ranging from 3 to 24 years in prison.

Crimean courts, in particular the “Supreme Court”, the “Sevastopol City Court” and the “Leninskyі District Court”, handed down sentences ranging from 5 to 18 years in prison. In particular, on April 23, the Russian Military Court of Appeals upheld the sentence against Yaroslav Zhuk, a volunteer from Melitopol who had been abducted earlier. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of an alleged “act of international terrorism.” Human rights activists have stressed that most of these cases are fabricated, and detainees are often abducted and held without access to a lawyer. The situation demonstrates the systemic pressure on Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories and violations of international humanitarian law. Political persecution of women in Crimea and on Russian territory also increased significantly in 2025. At least 64 women from Crimea, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, were held in places of deprivation of liberty.