Why Illegally Detained Civilians Remain without Comprehensive Social Protection from the State

The document is the result of 1,5 year of monitoring the processes of adopting the Law, analyzing attempts to implement it and practice of its application. We seek to make the problems outlined in this report the subject of discussions and further changes in the current legislation regarding social and legal protection of illegally deprived Ukrainian citizens, as well as in the approaches of the Minreintegration to the procedure of establishing the fact of deprivation of personal liberty as a result of russian armed aggression against Ukraine, and the CMU to provide all the types of assistance guaranteed by the Law to such persons.

TEAM OF AUTHORS

Kateryna Levchenko, a lawyer, head of the legal department of the Association

Ihor Kotelianets, Head of the Association

Nataliia Hladynets, an analyst, PhD in Economics

Svitlana Odintsova, a legal analyst

Nataliia Savchenko, editor and translator

We express our special gratitude to Daria Svyrydova,a lawyer and expert at the Ukrainian Legal Advisory Group, for her consultative assistance.

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June 6, 2025

Invisible in Russian captivity: Analysis of the illegal detention of civilians incommunicado: family testimonies and challenges in locating them

This analytical report is extremely important for illustrating violations of Articles 9 (right to social security), 10 (protection of the family), 12 (right to health) and 15 (participation in cultural life) of the Covenant. The report describes the complete isolation of civilians in places of detention without contact with the outside world (holding them incommunicado), accompanied by psychological pressure, a ban on phone calls and correspondence, and no access to a lawyer or medical care. Such conditions not only violate their individual rights, but also deprive their families of the opportunity to provide care, support and the realisation of basic social rights.

Analytics

December 18, 2025

Analytical Report on the Conducted Public Review

The NGO “Association of Relatives of the Kremlin’s Political Prisoners” publishes an analytical report prepared based on the results of a public review of the activities of the Commission for Establishing the Fact of Deprivation of Personal Liberty as a Result of Armed Aggression against Ukraine. The report systematizes the regulatory framework governing the Commission’s work, analyzes its administrative practice, and identifies key shortcomings in decision-making procedures and in victims’ access to social guarantees. Particular attention is paid to issues related to the burden of proof, the determination of the political motive of persecution, and the safeguarding of applicants’ right to be heard. Based on a legal analysis, a review of the Commission’s decisions, and surveys of affected individuals, the report formulates recommendations aimed at improving the regulatory framework, institutional capacity, and procedural fairness in order to strengthen state support for victims of unlawful deprivation of liberty.