Voice of Ukraine

From: US State Department

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Note: The human rights situation in territories occupied by Russia at the time of writing, including Crimea and parts of Donetsk, Kherson, Luhansk, and Zaporizhzhia oblasts, are covered in a separate subsection (see Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2024 for Ukraine, section on Russia-occupied Areas). The main body of this report covers the human rights situation in Ukrainian government-controlled territory as of the end of 2024; thus, abuses committed by Russia’s forces on territory liberated from Russia’s control during the reporting period are included in the main body of this report.

The Russia-Ukraine war continued during the year, marked by war crimes, crimes against humanity, and human rights abuses committed by Russia’s officials and forces. Throughout the year, Russia’s forces launched repeated attacks affecting civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, including missile and drone strikes throughout Ukraine hitting multifamily residences and critical infrastructure such as power generation and transmission, water, and heating facilities. Civil society and defense analysts reported Russia launched 13,925 missiles and drones at targets in Ukraine during the year. (See Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2024 for Ukraine, section on Russia-occupied Areas, for abuses committed by Russian military, security, and proxy forces in those territories Russia occupied at year’s end).

Significant human rights issues involving Ukrainian government officials included credible reports of: torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest or detention; serious restrictions on freedom of expression and media freedom, including violence or threats of violence against journalists, unjustified arrests or prosecutions of journalists, and censorship; systematic restrictions on workers’ freedom of association; and the significant presence of any of the worst forms of child labor. Some of these human rights issues stemmed from martial law, which continued to curtail democratic freedoms due to wartime conditions, including freedom of the press and legal protections.

The government often did not take adequate steps to identify and punish officials who committed human rights abuses.