In August, our team collected and verified more testimonies about crimes against civilians in the occupied territories. Over the month, we documented 18 new cases of unlawful deprivation of liberty, and in total, our database now contains 408 civilians known to be being or having been held in captivity. These are not statistics for a report — behind each number is someone’s family, who waits for news every day.

Witnesses describe beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence, isolation, and psychological pressure. Such practices are repeated in different places and at different times, which indicates their systematic nature. The geography of the recorded cases in August is Kherson, Zaporizhia, Kharkiv, Luhansk, Donetsk regions, and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea; there is also the detention of a Ukrainian citizen on the territory of the Russian Federation.

We are attentive to the safety of victims and their loved ones: we do not publish operational details, addresses, or transit routes, and we do not name names without written consent. All materials undergo legal review.

Full version of the review: https://www.relativespp.org/.../analitika-serpnya-2025...

Documentation of war crimes is carried out with the financial support of the Norwegian Helsinki Committee (NHC). The views and conclusions expressed in this publication belong solely to the authors and do not necessarily reflect the position or policy of the NHC.

The association systematically documents war crimes committed by Russians, works to release civilians and support their families.

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