Systematic detentions of civilians in the occupied territories have been one of the most brutal tools of Russian aggression against Ukraine since 2014. Following the full-scale invasion in 2022, this practice has expanded to an unprecedented scale. 

As of July 1, 2026, the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) has managed to identify the names of 2,592 civilians currently held in captivity. 

Among them are 223 civilian women, while the fate of another 25 women remains unknown, as the Russian Federation completely conceals their whereabouts after detention. 

The youngest among them is currently 18 years old. Her name is Yulia Buievets, detained in March 2026 in the occupied city of Volnovakha, Donetsk Oblast. 

The oldest is 73-year-old Vira Hryhorivna Hella, a resident of occupied Berdyansk, Zaporizhzhia Oblast. 

Those detained include activists, journalists, teachers, medical workers, relatives of military personnel, and ordinary civilians who refused to cooperate with the occupational authorities, demonstrated general dissent against the occupation, or expressed pro-Ukrainian views in private conversations. 

The practice of detaining civilians under occupation—both men and women — is part of the Russian Federation's systematic policy to suppress or prevent any resistance in the seized territories. 

Conditions in Russian prisons are horrific: there is no access to fresh air, medical assistance, or communication with families, and representatives of international monitoring missions are strictly barred. Behind closed doors, civilian detainees, including women, are frequently subjected to torture. 

The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) emphasized in its report that 95% of released Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilians reported being subjected to torture or ill-treatment during their captivity. 

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