Photo: Debris field by the bombed theatre in Mariupol, Ukraine  © Amnesty International.

The war in Ukraine has now lasted for ten years, beginning with the Russian occupation of Crimea in February 2014. Countless atrocities have been committed against people in Ukraine over the last decade. The international community must unite to defend human rights in Ukraine. Those responsible for gross violations and crimes under international law must be brought to justice. 

In 2014, Russia occupied and illegally annexed Ukraine’s Crimea and took control of the Donetsk and Luhansk regions. In 2022, Russia began its full-scale invasion, an act of aggression and a crime under international law. For ten years, people in Ukraine have suffered countless atrocities and grave human rights abuses as they suffer from war.

Amnesty International has spent ten years documenting war crimes and other violations of international humanitarian and human rights law in Ukraine. 

The fighting in eastern Ukraine since 2014 resulted in more than 10,000 civilians being killed or injured. In the Russian-occupied areas of Crimea, Donetsk and Luhansk, de facto authorities have suppressed all dissent through brutal reprisals, including forced disappearances and prohibition of free media and of Ukrainian education.

Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, Russian forces have conducted indiscriminate attacks resulting in thousands of civilian casualties, amid mounting evidence of other war crimes including torture, sexual violence and unlawful killings. The aggression has led to violations of the rights to housing, health and education.

“I couldn't imagine that all of Ukraine would become a dangerous place in one moment.”
Anna, Amnesty International Researcher

For the people of Ukraine, daily life has been plagued with suffering for a decade. Victims and survivors who suffered from Russia's aggression should see that their rights to truth, justice, and reparations are realised.

Demand the international community ensures that all those responsible for gross human rights violations and crimes under international law are brought to justice.