Ukraine (26/80): Third-party groups flagrantly violate human rights often and regularly, limiting Ukraine’s score to forty. Ukraine has fully abolished the death penalty. Russian-backed forces in the Donbas region (Luhansk and Donetsk Oblasts) regularly committed human rights abuses. The Luhansk People’s Republic and Donetsk People’s Republic militias carried out regular extrajudicial executions in prison. LPR and DPR militias repeatedly used explosives in or near populated areas and launched mortar attacks into government-controlled areas, often near civilians. The government continued its investigation into the 2018 murder of civil activist Kateryna Hanziuk; who was allegedly murdered on a hit put out by the head of the Kherson Regional Legislature. The Ukrainian government continues to investigate killings and other crimes committed by security forces during the Euromaidan protests. Ukraine has complied with extradition requests from authoritarian regimes, most notably when it deported several Uzbek dissidents back to Uzbekistan. Torture in prison was rampant. Pedophiles were regularly tortured to death by prison guards and police frequently tortured inmates as a punishment for misbehavior. Prison guards have also been accused of extorting money from prisoners. The government occasionally tortured inmates to obtain confessions, and confessions obtained under duress were generally not thrown out of court. Police generally had high impunity for brutality and frequently beat detainees during their arrest. Prison conditions were poor. Compounding issues of guard brutality were issues of inadequate healthy food, medical and sanitation facilities, and lighting. The government often conducted arbitrary arrests, citing security concerns. Russian sympathizers were often arrested without due process. They were sometimes released without charge, while charges were sometimes retroactively applied. Holocaust and Communist-era property restitution cases were poorly managed. Emergency provisions allowing the government to conduct searches and seizures were often abused. The government sometimes conducted searches and seizures without a warrant or probable cause and these cases were not thrown out of court. Trans Ukrainians cannot serve openly. Ukraine guarantees discrimination protections. Same-sex marriage is constitutionally banned. Any single person can adopt but Ukraine does not recognize joint same-sex adoption. Abortion is legal to twelve weeks.

Crimea (0/10): Under Russian law, Crimea retains the death penalty under moratorium. Forty-five Ukrainian citizens have gone missing in Crimea since Russia’s takeover in 2014. Several were last seen in Russian custody. Torture in custody in Crimea was systemic and near-universal. Virtually all detainees in Crimea were tortured by the Russian government and torture in custody in Crimea went completely unpunished. Several Crimean Tatar activists were ruled insane and institutionalized without their will or consent. Prison conditions in Crimea are abhorrent, as prisons were horribly overcrowded and lacked adequate food and potable water, as well as medical and sanitation facilities. Prisoners were regularly beaten by prison staff. Arbitrary arrest was the norm in Crimea and arrest warrants were seldom issued. Russian authorities ran kangaroo courts with no independence or integrity in Crimea. The Russian government keeps over 105 political prisoners in Crimea, 73 of whom are Crimean Tatars held on charges of terrorism. The Russian government has been accused of running military training programs in schools. The government has shut down nearly all Ukrainian Orthodox Churches and mosques in Crimea. Russia is currently committing cultural genocide of Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in Crimea. Russia has promoted the settlement of ethnic Russians on the peninsula and has forcibly evicted ethnic Ukrainians and Crimean Tatars in order to make room for Russians. Russia’s policy of Mass Russian Naturalization in 2014 violated international law. In 2014 Russia gave Crimeans eighteen days to opt out of a program that would grant them Russian citizenship and strip them of their Ukrainian citizenship. Those who opted out, overwhelmingly ethnic Ukrainians, were deported in droves. Journalists in Crimea face constant legal and physical harassment by Russian authorities. Crimea’s media environment is highly unsafe and the Russian government is known to arbitrarily arrest journalists and hold them incommunicado for extended periods. The Federal Security Service (FSB) maintains an extensive surveillance network and also promises rewards for those who snitch on their neighbors expressing dissatisfaction with the Russian occupation. Crimea has zero freedom of assembly and the government regularly brutally suppresses any protests in opposition to their occupation. A de facto “don’t ask, don’t tell” style policy is in place in the military. The Russian government does not protect against discrimination or recognize same-sex relationships. Any single person can adopt but Russia does not recognize joint same-sex adoption. Crimea received a one-point penalty for cultural genocide.

Eastern Donbas (1/10): Neither the LPR or DPR have a standing law on the death penalty, but it is de facto abolished. Arbitrary executions of Ukrainian sympathizers are common. Separatist forces regularly target civilians in their attacks. Professing Ukrainian identity is dangerous in Donbas and separatists are known to attack people claiming to be Ukrainian. No free media has operated in Donbas since 2014. Donbas has no freedom of assembly. Neither the LPR or DPR have a standing law on LGBT rights but homosexuality is de facto illegal. Neither the LPR nor DPR have a standing law on abortion.