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    Enforced disappearances

    Attack on a school, abduction, captivity. How residents of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske in Chernihiv Region survived the occupation
    Attack on a school, abduction, captivity. How residents of Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske in Chernihiv Region survived the occupation

    Mykhailo-Kotsiubynske is a residential community near Chernihiv, where about three thousand people lived before the full-scale invasion. It was directly in the path of the Russian army to Chernobyl. The village came under occupation on February 28 and was liberated on April 2. An MIHR fact finder recorded accounts of the ordeal.

    29 December 2023

    MIHR discovered a torture chamber in Sumy Region: a victim recognized all of it
    MIHR discovered a torture chamber in Sumy Region: a victim recognized all of it

    Boromlia and Trostianets are population centers in the Okhtyrka community of Sumy Region. At the start of the full-scale invasion by the Russian Federation, they came under occupation. The invaders kidnapped, tortured, and killed civilians. MIHR came here on a field mission and discovered five sites where Russians illegally detained civilians. In Boromlia, people were held on the premises of a local enterprise, and in Trostianets – at the railway station, brick factory, grain silo, and police department.

    27 December 2023

    For the first time, the UN illegally has recorded the problem of Ukrainian civilian hostages held by Russia: what will it do?
    For the first time, the UN illegally has recorded the problem of Ukrainian civilian hostages held by Russia: what will it do?

    On 19 December, 2023,  the UN General Assembly adopted an updated resolution on the situation of human […]

    19 December 2023

    How the Russians occupied Chernihiv Region: names of commanders and alleged perpetrators
    How the Russians occupied Chernihiv Region: names of commanders and alleged perpetrators

    “We came to liberate you." This is how Russian invaders responded to the residents of Chernihiv Region in February-March 2022. During this time, they committed numerous crimes against civilians. To document these, MIHR went to the village of Shestovytsia, where in March last year Russian troops established their headquarters.

    12 December 2023

    “Spotter from Chornobaivka”: how Maksym Bilychuk survived kidnapping, seven months of captivity, torture, and at last appeared in the territory controlled by Ukraine
    “Spotter from Chornobaivka”: how Maksym Bilychuk survived kidnapping, seven months of captivity, torture, and at last appeared in the territory controlled by Ukraine

    Maksym Bilychuk is a thirty-year-old resident of Chornobaivka, the strategically important village near Kherson, where the airfield is located. He had neither military nor volunteer experience before a full-scale invasion. He spent the first month and a half of the Great War in the basement with his nephew, wife and neighbors.

    30 November 2023

    Hostages in Russia. How an ATO ex-soldier, Andrii Harasymenko, was abducted in the Chernihiv region and where he is now
    Hostages in Russia. How an ATO ex-soldier, Andrii Harasymenko, was abducted in the Chernihiv region and where he is now

    During the last year’s occupation of the Chernihiv region, Russian military personnel abducted men, held them captive, and interrogated them in torture chambers in the Vyshneve village and Horodnia town. MIHR recounts the story of Andrii Harasymenko, a gas service master from the village of Novoukrainske, his abduction, and transportation to a Russian prison.

    11 August 2023

    Nothing Sacred: How Russian Forces Abducted UGCC Priests Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Heleta in Berdiansk
    Nothing Sacred: How Russian Forces Abducted UGCC Priests Ivan Levytskyi and Bohdan Heleta in Berdiansk

    Ivan Levytskyi hails from the Lviv region, while Bohdan Heleta comes from the Ivano-Frankivsk region. Driven by their spiritual calling, both decided to become monks. They served in Berdiansk for approximately four years. The parish of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary of the Ukrainian Greek Catholic Church was relatively small. According to relatives of the priests, their term of service in Berdiansk was due to conclude by the end of 2022, and they were planning to return home.

    4 August 2023

    “I want to believe that he is alive. If not, I have the right to know about it.” The search for Serhii Khrolenko continues
    “I want to believe that he is alive. If not, I have the right to know about it.” The search for Serhii Khrolenko continues

    During the occupation of the Kyiv region, the Russian military abducted Ukrainian men en masse. Many of […]

    2 August 2023

    Friends from Nova Kakhovka: How Yevhen Pryshliak and Artem Baranov were Abducted by Russians and are now Transported Around Russia
    Friends from Nova Kakhovka: How Yevhen Pryshliak and Artem Baranov were Abducted by Russians and are now Transported Around Russia

    “Hi mom, dad! I am kept in captivity, in a prisoner-of-war camp. Conditions are normal: we have […]

    23 May 2023

    Agreements on civilians do not work. Ombudsman’s representative met with relatives of Ukrainian hostages
    Agreements on civilians do not work. Ombudsman’s representative met with relatives of Ukrainian hostages

    Kyrylo Budanov, Chief of the Defence Intelligence of Ukraine (GUR), says that almost 40% of those in […]

    28 March 2023

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