Occupants imprison 148 Ukrainians from Crimea and Kherson region on trumped-up cases

Russian security forces are keeping at least 148 Ukrainians behind bars in the occupied Crimea and part of Kherson region. The repressions are being covered up under fabricated cases of "espionage" and "sabotage".

This is evidenced by a study by the Crimean Human Rights Group.

In the occupied territories of Crimea and part of Kherson region, at least 148 Ukrainians are being held in prisons on charges of "sabotage" and "espionage". Among them are citizens detained in Crimea since 2014, as well as at least 45 people abducted after February 24, 2022, in Zaporizhzhia and Kherson regions and taken to Crimean detention centers.

According to the FSB, the detainees were preparing sabotage, storing weapons or spying for Ukraine. Human rights activists have documented numerous violations: the use of torture, pressure to obtain "confessions," lack of presumption of innocence, and the publication of video confessions in Russian media.

In 2025, Russian courts and occupation courts in the occupied territories passed at least 27 verdicts. Among the most high-profile are the life sentences of Mykola Dzhos (Zaporizhzhia region) and Volodymyr Zloba (Southern District Military Court of the Russian Federation). Other convicts received sentences ranging from 3 to 24 years in prison.

The courts of Crimea, including the 'Supreme Court', 'Sevastopol City Court' and 'Leninsky District Court', handed down sentences ranging from 5 to 18 years in prison. In particular, on April 23, the Russian Military Court of Appeal upheld the verdict against Yaroslav Zhuk, a volunteer from Melitopol who had been abducted earlier. He was sentenced to 14 years in prison on charges of an alleged "act of international terrorism."

Human rights activists emphasized that most of these cases are fabricated, and detainees are often abducted and held without access to a lawyer. The situation demonstrates systemic pressure on Ukrainian citizens in the occupied territories and violations of international humanitarian law.

Also in 2025, political persecution of women in Crimea and in the territory of Russia increased significantly. At least 64 women from Crimea, as well as Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions, were held in detention.

Анна Бальчінос