The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine welcomes the presentation of the 8th Interim Report by the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) on violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law during the Russian war of aggression against Ukraine.
The report covers the period from 1 June to 30 November 2025 and is based, inter alia, on the findings of three ODIHR monitoring missions to Ukraine conducted in the second half of 2025. During these missions, ODIHR conducted 106 interviews with 114 witnesses and victims. The findings were supplemented by remote monitoring and using open sources investigation verification.
The conclusions of ODIHR provide important confirmation of the Russian Federation’s systematic disregard for the fundamental principles of international humanitarian law.
The report notes that the armed forces of the Russian Federation further intensified the use of weapons with wide-area effects in urban areas throughout Ukraine, which constitutes a grave violation of international humanitarian law.
It also documents the expanded use by Russia of short-range loitering munitions, including FPV drones, which remained one of the main causes of civilian deaths and injuries in areas close to the frontline. ODIHR reports a 40 per cent increase in confirmed civilian casualties in territories under the control of the Government of Ukraine compared to the previous six-month period.
Witnesses interviewed by ODIHR reported deliberate attacks against humanitarian personnel involved in the delivery of humanitarian assistance and the evacuation of civilians.
The report documents widespread and systematic use of torture, cruel treatment, and sexual violence against Ukrainian civilians and prisoners of war detained by the Russian Federation.
ODIHR also received testimony regarding so-called military-patriotic education in universities located in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, as well as detailed information on the militarisation of children and the encouragement of students to join the armed forces of the Russian Federation.
Furthermore, the information collected by ODIHR indicates that the detention of Ukrainian civilians in the territories temporarily occupied by Russia corresponds to the constitutive elements of the crime of hostage-taking.
The report separately underscores the ongoing attempts by the occupant-state to change the status and character of the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, in particular through coercion to acquire Russian citizenship and the imposition of Russian educational programmes.
The report confirms that the so-called “annexation” or “integration” proclaimed by Russia is illegal under international law and does not change the status of these territories as the sovereign territory of Ukraine.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine emphasises the importance of ODIHR’s focus on ensuring accountability for perpetrators and on effective legal remedies for victims. As of December 15, 2025, the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine has registered 206,044 crimes of aggression and war crimes committed in the context of the Russian Federation’s war of aggression against Ukraine.
The Ministry calls on OSCE participating States and international partners to make full use of ODIHR’s findings and recommendations to strengthen coordinated pressure on the aggressor state, advance efforts to hold perpetrators accountable, and enhance the protection of the civilian population.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses its appreciation to ODIHR for its consistent work and reaffirms Ukraine’s readiness to continue close cooperation within international mechanisms in order to ensure justice for all victims and to hold all perpetrators accountable.