UN says Russia consolidates control of occupied Ukraine with , ‘climate of fear’
Russia is consolidating control over occupied Ukrainian territory through arbitrary detention, killings, and torture, creating a climate of fear. The U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) reported on rights breaches by Russia, including censorship, surveillance, political oppression, repression of free speech, and movement restrictions. Russia denies committing atrocities or deliberately attacking civilians, calling its actions a “special military operation.” Russia controls over 17% of Ukraine’s territory, affecting several million people. The HRMMU’s findings are based on interviews with over 2,300 individuals. Initial rights violations involved killings, torture, and arbitrary detention, targeting those linked to Ukrainian security forces or supportive of Ukraine. This was followed by restrictions on movement, assembly, and expression, and efforts to replace Ukrainian state institutions with Russian ones, violating international humanitarian law. Schools were forced to adopt the Russian language and curriculum, and the justice system jailed people in Russian prisons. Civil servants were compelled to comply with new systems. At the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant, workers faced threats, intimidation, and arbitrary arrest if they resisted. Russia also pushed for residents to take Russian citizenship, linking access to services like healthcare and social security to holding a Russian passport. Residents were encouraged to spy on each other, and communication links between Ukrainians in occupied areas and those in territories controlled by Kyiv were cut, isolating families.