Our names are Oleksandr Shchelkunov and Mykola Hubarenko. We are members of the Liberal Democratic League of Ukraine. Hubarenko Mykola in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Oleksandr Shchelkunov in the Department for the Protection of Human Rights.
The main purpose of the League is to protect and promote human rights and freedoms, as well as their social, economic, creative, and cultural interests; promote Ukrainian culture in Ukraine and abroad; cooperate with the new generation of Ukrainians; involve young people in analytical work and social and political activities.
It is very important to highlight and disseminate truthful information about the events in our country during the war. Today we will look at the human rights violations recorded during the war in Ukraine. Against the background of all events, it should be determined that since the beginning of the war, namely since February 24, 2022, the main human right, “the right to life,” has been violated. On that day, 57 citizens of Ukraine were deprived of this right.
With each new day of the war, the right that no one should be subjected to torture or cruel, inhuman behavior is challenged by Russian missile artillery and occupation troops.
The terrible situation, which was made public to the whole world on May 1st:
It became known that the Russians shot at least 280 civilians in Bucha alone. They were killed right in the street, some of them had their hands tied and were shot in the back of the head, and some of them were minors. After the Russian troops left, more than 30 bodies were found in the streets, in the basement of the children’s camp, and in the courtyards of houses, all in civilian clothes. Another 67 bodies were exhumed from a mass grave near St. Andrew Church. Forensic examination showed that 40 of them were civilians. Several were killed by artillery fire. Official Ukrainian sources point to possible cases of rape. Russian soldiers themselves have sent videos of murderous torture and rape.
Russian troops ignore that no person may be subjected to arbitrary interference with his private and family life, infringement on the inviolability of his home, the secrecy of his correspondence, or his honor and reputation. Another example of this is the video of the interrogation of Sergey Moroz, a resident of Oleshka in the Kherson region, who was kidnapped by the occupants, which has been made freely available. The video records beatings and torture with the use of electric current.
The Russians also do not limit themselves in their attacks on the citizens of other states on the occupied Ukrainian territory, disregarding the existence of the right to free movement and choice of residence within any state.
A vivid example of this is that Huseyn Abdullayev, a student at Mariupol State University who was helping volunteers in the city after the full-scale Russian invasion began, was captured by the occupants while attempting to leave the city on March 17. The Russians illegally seized him at a checkpoint near Berdyansk, stripped him down to his underwear, looking for tattoos, and handcuffed him to the detention center, although Huseyn showed documents that he was an Azerbaijani citizen. He was brutally tortured at the pretrial detention facility to make him confess that he was an “Azov” serviceman. The torture by the electric current was suspended only five or six days before the agreement on his dismissal was reached, but the brutal beatings continued.
All of these cases are indicative, but we must not forget that all of this is just the tip of the iceberg. It is unknown how many more Buchas are left behind the front lines and how many people are being tortured and raped without justification. So the world must be relentless in ensuring Ukraine’s victory through military support and sanctions. We cannot take our foot off the gas pedal now. We must prevent a protracted and increasingly painful conflict in Ukraine from developing.
This article is a collaboration between Mykola Hubarenko and Oleksandr Shchelkunov