Ukraine: one year on a humanitarian crisis continues
One year on from the beginning of the Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine many people, including children, are dying, and many more at risk.
As Russia continues its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Amnesty International is exposing violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and gathering evidence from our researchers on the ground and our Crisis Evidence Lab. From the devastation of Izium to the siege of Mariupol, from shelling in Kyiv to displaced people in Lviv, we’re helping to keep the world informed about what is happening in Ukraine.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, his government and the Russian armed forces are desperate to hide the truth about the invasion, including the possible war crimes they are committing in Ukraine. This page will feature Amnesty International’s regular updates on the conflict, which help to uncover the human rights crises caused by Russia’s invasion. Click on the links below to access our briefings and investigations into the human rights issues surrounding the conflict.
The full-scale invasion has triggered a huge human rights, humanitarian, & displacement crisis that has the makings of the worst such catastrophe in recent European history.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General, Amnesty International
Russia’s aggression against Ukraine
Russia continues to commit war crimes on Ukrainian soil
Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has caused Ukrainian citizens to endure serious violations of international humanitarian law, including the unlawful killing and injury of civilians, destruction of infrastructure, and blocking of desperately needed aid, all of which may constitute war crimes.
Amnesty International is working to document evidence of these crimes as Russian forces have attacked hospitals, schools and civilian homes and have employed deadly “surrender or starve” sieges on civilians, while Amnesty International researchers have found that Russia is forcibly transferring Ukrainian people into Russia through the process of ‘filtration’.
Russia is breaching the sovereignty of Ukraine & challenging the global security architecture.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International
A refugee emergency in Europe
The sheer scale of the human rights crisis in Ukraine grows with every passing day. So far, the UN has recorded eight million Ukrainian refugees across Europe with many more people, including children, missing or forcibly transferred to Russian territory. Amnesty International is calling for well-planned, safe humanitarian corridors to help those most in need, and for all parties to respect such agreements in good faith.
As temperatures reached below freezing throughout winter, Russian missile strikes continued to inflict power cuts and blackouts across Ukraine. With medical supplies, food and water also running low, people in Ukraine are facing an unprecedented humanitarian disaster.
Amnesty International continues to investigate the situation to ensure that evidence of what is happening to Ukrainian people reaches the world.
The people of Ukraine have suffered unimaginable horror during this war of aggression over the last 12 months. Let us be clear: the hands of Vladimir Putin and his armed forces are stained with blood. Survivors deserve justice and reparations for all they have endured.
Agnès Callamard, Secretary General of Amnesty International
Russia’s crackdown on protests and media
Imprisonment, censorship, disinformation
The Russian authorities have unleashed an unprecedented, nationwide crackdown on independent journalism, anti-war protests and dissenting voices following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. The Kremlin is determined to mask the human cost of its war and has blocked independent news and social media sites that reveal the true impact and devastation of the invasion. Meanwhile, anyone caught spreading “fake news” about the conflict faces a prison sentence of up to 15 years.
In Russia thousands of protesters have been arbitrarily detained since the start of the invasion, while the media blackout seeks to entirely deprive the Russian people of access to objective, trustworthy information about the conflict. As repression mounts, many journalists and monitors have faced persecution while others have had to flee the country. At least 150 critical journalists have fled the country so far. Amnesty International’s recent report, ‘Russia: “You will be arrested anyway”, details Russia’s reprisals against monitors and media workers who report on the protests.
As thousands of protesters took to the streets across Russia to denounce the war, the Kremlin vilified state critics and coerced domestic media into supporting its policies: We must continue to amplify the voices of those the Russian authorities seek to silence.
Marie Struthers, Amnesty International’s Eastern Europe and Central Asia Director
STOP THE AGGRESSION AND PROTECT CIVILIANS IN UKRAINE
Right now, people in Ukraine are facing a catastrophic human rights crisis. People are dying, including children, and many thousands of lives are at risk. Take action to demand that the Russian authorities stop this act of aggression and protect civilians now.