The Viktoriia Project: Release of Civilians Key to Peace Deal - Rights Groups

Ukrainian and Russian civil society leaders have called for the unconditional release of thousands of Ukrainian civilians who are being held in Russian captivity, and for world leaders to make it a central part of any peace deal.

- Shaun Walker

Oleksandra Matviichuk, the head of the Kyiv-based Centre for Civil Liberties, which won the 2022 Nobel Peace Prize, said most of the discussion on ending the conflict led by Donald Trump's administration focused solely on territories and potential security guarantees.

"It's a huge problem that we lose the human dimension in this political process," she said. "Only with solving the human dimension can we find a path to sustainable peace."

On Tuesday, the Guardian and its reporting partners launched the Viktoriia project, an investigation into the death of the Ukrainian journalist Viktoriia Roshchyna in Russian custody, as well as a report on the systemic torture and mistreatment of thousands of civilian detainees seized by Russian occupying forces.

The European Commission on Wednesday condemned the killing, with the foreign affairs spokesperson Anitta Hipper saying it showed that life under occupation "remains a constant threat to Ukrainians".

Jan Braathu, the media freedom representative for the Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe, said he was "appalled" by the evidence emerging in Roshchyna's case. A preliminary autopsy suggested she was tortured before she died, and her brain and other body parts were removed to conceal the cause of death.

In a statement, Braathu said Roshchyna's treatment was a breach of international law, including the Geneva conventions and the UN convention against torture, to which Russia is a signatory. "I condemn these grave abuses by the Russian Federation," he said.