GENEVA (23 September 2025) – A UN Human Rights report released today details the dire situation of thousands of civilians detained since Russia’s full-scale armed attack on Ukraine in 2022.
Russian authorities have subjected Ukrainian civilian detainees in occupied territory to torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence, in a widespread and systematic manner, the report finds.
Most of the 215 released civilian detainees interviewed by the UN Human Rights Office since June 2023 gave consistent and detailed accounts of their treatment in captivity. They recounted severe beatings and electric shocks, mock executions, prolonged stress positions, and threats of death and violence to them or their loved ones, and instances of sexual violence. Interviewees also described poor conditions of detention, including a lack of food and inadequate medical treatment.
The Russian Federation has applied Russian criminal law in occupied territory, the report notes, ignoring the obligation under international humanitarian law (IHL) to respect the laws in force in the occupied territory, unless absolutely prevented. The frequent disregard of legal and procedural safeguards has resulted in high numbers of arbitrary detentions and raised significant concerns about enforced disappearances.
Families have been left with no or limited information about the fate of their loved ones.
“The cumulative effect of these measures, combined with a lack of accountability, has placed many Ukrainian civilians outside the effective protection of the law during their detention and contributed to an oppressive environment and climate of fear in occupied territory of Ukraine,” the report says.
In May 2025, the Ukrainian authorities reported that around 1,800 Ukrainian civilians were still being detained by the Russian Federation in occupied territory for reasons related to the armed conflict, although the actual number is likely to be significantly higher.
“Our report lays bare the human rights violations inflicted on civilian detainees. People have been arbitrarily picked off the streets in occupied territory, charged under shifting legal bases and held for days, weeks, months and even years, often with limited contact to their families,” said UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk.
“It is essential that the human rights of civilian detainees, who have been severely impacted by this terrible conflict, are prioritised in any peace talks,” he stressed.
In territory under its control, Ukraine has detained mainly its own citizens on charges related to national security, including treason and sabotage, the report details.
Many conflict-related criminal cases also involve charges of collaboration, based on the individual’s interaction or cooperation with the Russian occupying authorities. People have been prosecuted for carrying out emergency services, construction, humanitarian relief and garbage removal during the occupation, activities that can lawfully be compelled by the occupying authorities.
The increased number of conflict-related detainees - some 2,258 held by Ukraine in official pre-trial and penal facilities as of 21 July 2025, as well as 20,000 open cases – has strained Ukraine’s criminal justice system. The authorities have taken steps to strengthen procedural safeguards and improve detention conditions. However, the UN Human Rights Office continues to document cases of torture and ill-treatment of detainees, and accountability remains limited.
Türk reiterated that civilians must always be treated humanely and can only be detained on grounds lawful under international law. They must be released from detention as soon as such grounds cease to exist.
