Human rights defenders and activists call international organizations to protect Ukrainians from kidnappings and executions in the cities and villages occupied by Russian forces, according to the statement of the Human Rights Center ZMINA.
"We, the representatives of Ukrainian public organizations, ask the international community to pay attention to the kidnappings and executions of Ukrainian activists, human rights defenders, volunteers, journalists and elected local officials. They happen in the areas of Donetsk, Zaporizhya, Kyiv, Lugansk and Kherson, partially occupied by the Russian army," says the statement.
The activists remind that the Russian war against Ukraine has already led to thousands of civilian victims. As a result of military actions, some localities temporarily fell under Russian control. People on these territories resist, and the occupiers keep terrorizing the locals.
"Since last week, we have been recording the "arrests," but de-facto kidnappings of Ukrainian activists, volunteers, journalists and local elected officials in Gostomel, Kherson, Berdyansk, Melitopol, Volnovakha, Novaya Kakhovka and other localities occupied by the Russian army. There have also been cases of murdering Ukrainian activists," said the human rights defenders.
On March 7, we heard that the Russian military shot the mayor of Gostomel Yourii Prylypko and two volunteers, Ruslan Karpenko and Ivan Zorya, distributing humanitarian aid.
At least three people have been kidnapped in Melitopol, including the mayor Ivan Fedorov on March 11, activist Olga Gaisumova on March 12, and the Chairman of city council Sergiy Pryyma on March 13.
In Nova Kakhovka, on March 12 disappeared the activist Sergyy Tsyhipa. On the same evening in the neighbouring Kakhovka disappeared local journalist Oleg Baturin. In Dniprorudny (Zaporizhya region) on March 13, information about the kidnapping of the mayor Evgeniy Matveev appeared.
"We have no connection with them, but we have witness accounts that the Russian military seized them. We have reasons to believe that the kidnapped activists and officials suffer torture and intimidation," stated human rights defenders.
According to the member of the Parliament, Dmytro Lubinets, in Volnovakha Russian military "arrested" over 20 Ukrainian activists. These people were on the list "to be killed or sent to the camps" after the Russian invasion shown by numerous western news outlets.
On March 13, we learned about the murder of Ukrainian activist and volunteer Oleksandr Kononov, who was shot by the Russian military in his house in the village Borivske near Severodonetsk. In 2014, Oleksandr Kononov spent 98 days in captivity of the terrorists of the so-called Luhansk people's republic. He had a disability lived without one arm and one leg.
Public organizations are asking to do everything possible to protect people who are at additional risk because of their public, volunteer or community activities, elected office or government service.
They are also asking the world to pressure Russia to respect the provisions of the Fourth Geneva Convention on the protection of civilians during the war, The Additional Protocol (I) to the Geneva Conventions, (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its annex and to stop violating human rights.