The UN report on the detention of civilians during Russia’s full-scale attack on Ukraine focuses mainly on the atrocities committed by the Russian military on the territory of Ukraine. The report documents more than 900 cases of arbitrary detention of civilians, including children and the elderly. The “vast majority” of these cases were committed by the Russian Federation. Moreover, executions committed by Russian troops are equated with a war crime. No such executions have been recorded on the Ukrainian side.
Social media and Russian websites are spreading information that the UN has allegedly “accused Ukrainian security forces of torturing civilians in secret detention centers.” “The UN has reported a significant increase in violations of the law by Ukrainian security forces. This is stated in the report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights. (…) The UN reported that dozens of detained citizens were tortured in unofficial detention centers. Experts interviewed detainees related to the conflict in Ukraine,” the Russian website NSP writes.
The quoted UN report, which covers the period from February 24, 2022, to May 23, 2023, refers to the detention of civilians in the context of Russia’s armed attack on Ukraine. In fact, the main conclusions of this report focus on the atrocities committed by Russian troops who illegally invaded Ukraine, rather than on the “significant increase in violations of the law by Ukrainian security forces.” The document emphasizes that Ukraine also violated international law by detaining several civilians, but that the “vast majority” of documented crimes were committed by the Russian military. Reports of Ukraine’s crimes on Russian websites and in the Russian segment of social media are manipulative and take information completely out of context.
For example, the UN report states that Russian troops executed 77 civilians whom they unjustifiably detained during the invasion of Ukraine. Another detained man died from torture, inhumane conditions and denial of medical care. The UN mission, however, did not record a single case of execution of civilians detained by Ukrainian forces.
Moreover, the UN has recorded 864 cases of arbitrary detention by Russia since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of Ukraine. There is also evidence that Russian forces and law enforcement agencies have used “widespread torture and ill-treatment of civilian detainees.” “Torture was used to force victims to confess to helping Ukrainian armed forces, compel them to cooperate with the occupying authorities, or intimidate those with pro-Ukrainian views,” said Matilda Bogner, head of the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Bogner also emphasized that Ukraine has provided UN investigators with “unimpeded confidential access” to detainees in official detention centers, with the exception of a group of 87 Russian sailors. Russia did not grant the organization such access, despite numerous requests.
In total, the report documented more than 900 cases of arbitrary detention of civilians, including children and the elderly, the “vast majority” of which were committed by Russia. In 91% of the cases, the detainees said they were subjected to “torture and ill-treatment, including sexual violence” by Russian interrogators, the report says. On the Ukrainian side, 75 cases of arbitrary detention by Ukrainian security forces were recorded, mostly of persons suspected of conflict-related crimes. Several dozen detainees also reported torture or ill-treatment, usually during interrogation or immediately after arrest.
In addition, the UN experts found no evidence that the Russian authorities have investigated allegations of abuses by their own armed forces, and the report expresses concern about a draft law that would exempt perpetrators from criminal liability for crimes committed in the occupied parts of Ukraine under certain circumstances.
