The Ministry of Foreign Affairs welcomes the release of the Ninth Interim Report on reported violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law in Ukraine, following the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion, by the OSCE’s Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR).

The report covers the period from the 1 December 2025 to 31 May 2026 and is based on materials collected during three ODIHR experts' visits to Ukraine in the first half of 2026, remote monitoring, open-source investigation techniques, and information collected from witnesses and victims.

In this period, ODIHR continued to document widespread and systematic violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law, which were committed by representatives of the Russian state authorities and the Russian armed forces.

The key elements of the report, among others, are:

• the continued conduct by the Russian armed forces of large-scale and coordinated strikes ageinst densely populated areas of Ukraine, as well as intensified attacks on the port and railway infrastructure, and civilian vessels;
• the Russian Federation’s systematic attacks on Ukraine’s energy facilities persisted throughout the winter months;
• the number of civilian casualties in Ukraine resulting from Russian attacks increased by 45 per cent compared with the same period in 2025;
• the critical humanitarian situation in Ukraine’s frontline areas, including the temporarily occupied territories. The situation is particularly severe in frontline communities in the Kherson region;
• the Russian Federation’s ongoing attacks aimed at obstructing humanitarian operations, resulting in deaths and injuries among humanitarian personnel, as well as repeated strikes targeting first responders arriving at the sites of attacks. The report also documents the possible use of civilians by Russian armed forces as “human shields” and the deliberate targeting of Ukrainian civilians with drones;
• the Russian Federation’s ongoing practice of arbitrary detention, enforced disappearance, and unlawful detention of Ukrainian civilians, including for the purpose of using them as hostages in prisoner exchanges;
• the widespread and systematic use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians, which may amount to crimes against humanity;
• the systematic perpetration of conflict-related sexual violence against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians held in the Russian Federation and in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine.

Another important element of the report is the evidence of the aggressor-state’s deliberate attempts to alter the status and essential characteristics of the temporarily occupied territories through forced passportization, russification, and militarization of education, coerced conscription, suppression of dissent, and illegal prosecution, as well as persecution of civilians, particularly Crimean Tatars. Recruitment of Ukrainian children by Russia for purposes of reconnaissance, espionage, and sabotage was also documented.

The MFA emphasizes that the character, scale, and systematic nature of crimes of the Russian Federation, documented in the report, demonstrate, inter alia, that the Kremlin’s actions are based on incitement of hatred and hostility within Russian society toward the people of Ukraine, which results in deliberate violations of international humanitarian law, and the commission of acts of extreme cruelty by the Russians against Ukrainian citizens.

We support the ODIHR’s findings that the scale and nature of Russian strikes on critical infrastructure indicate an intent to disrupt the functioning of the national energy system, rather than to strike specific military targets.

In this regard, we call on the international community to step up pressure on the Russian Federation to compel it to end the war and establish a just and lasting peace in Ukraine, based on the UN Charter and the Helsinki Final Act. We also consider it essential to coordinate further joint steps toward establishing an effective system for holding the aggressor-state accountable.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its gratitude to the ODIHR, the witnesses and victims who provided their testimony, as well as the Ukrainian state agencies and civil society organizations that contributed to the preparation of the report. We emphasize the importance of ensuring the OSCE’s continued contribution to documenting Russia’s crimes during the war against Ukraine.