The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its firm protest against the illegal and humiliating to people’s dignity actions by the Russian Federation towards the citizens of Ukraine who are unlawfully kept by this state on its territory as well as in the occupied parts of Ukraine.

Despite repeated strong calls from the Ukrainian side and the international community and assumed by the Russian side international obligations, the Russian Federation continues keeping at least 29 citizens of Ukraine unlawfully in custody; dozens of citizens are being persecuted in the occupied Crimea, 16 citizens of Ukraine are considered missing and 115 Ukrainians are kept hostages in the Donbas.

We have to admit that capture, torture and persecution of the Ukrainian citizens became a common practice for Moscow.

Cases of Oleg Sentsov, Oleksandr Kolchenko, Ilmi Umerov, Ahtem Ciygoz and of many others are vocal examples of the return of the Russian Federation to the political repressions and trials known from the era of Stalinism. It flagrantly violates all possible international legal standards in the protection of human rights, in particular, the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms and the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.

The latest decision by the occupational Russian authorities to reject claims by the side of defence in the case of the Deputy Chairman of Mejlis Ilmi Umerov, as well as his previous placement into in a psychiatric hospital are vivid illustrations of such inhuman policies.

There is an understanding in Ukraine that only a united and persistent efforts of the world leaders and democratic community, to which human rights and human dignity constitute the highest priority, can overcome the present tyranny of the Russian authorities.

The MFA of Ukraine reiterates its appeal to the international community to exert all the legal and political measures possible towards Russia to cease its totalitarian practice of suppressing human rights and freedom of speech and immediately release all Ukrainian political prisoners and hostages.