Draft: not yet checked by a lawyerThe guides below are drafts: a lawyer has not reviewed them yet. This is not legal advice.
Draft What human rights defenders advise
I live under Russian occupation: passport, home, conscription, checks
Passport. Decree No. 159 of 20 March 2025 required people to get a Russian passport or another Russian status by 10 September 2025, or leave. Without a Russian passport you lose access to pensions, healthcare, jobs, bank accounts and mobile service. People without status are expelled and can be held in a deportation centre. Under a Ukrainian law in force since 16 January 2026, Russian citizenship obtained under occupation is not considered voluntary and does not end Ukrainian citizenship.
Home. Homes of people who left go on 'ownerless' lists; since December 2025 they pass to the municipality without a court. Powers of attorney from Ukrainians are refused; a representative needs a Russian passport. Ukraine does not recognise this. Ukraine's Ombudsman advises checking the property is in Ukraine's State Register of Property Rights and keeping documents and photos. Claims to the Council of Europe's Register of Damage (A3.6) go through Diia; human rights groups advise filing after you leave.
Conscription. Since 1 January 2026 men aged 18 to 30 can be called for draft procedures all year, including via the Gosuslugi portal. International law forbids conscripting residents of occupied territory, but it happens, and some school leavers are drafted straight away. Men have been detained in the street and threatened with criminal charges to make them sign contracts. By law a contract is voluntary.
Children. Since 2025 'Conversations about Important Things' are held in kindergartens from age 3; Ukrainian was removed from the school curriculum on 15 December 2025; Yunarmiya members get better grades. Parents whose children study in Ukrainian online schools are threatened with fines and loss of parental rights; the UN has recorded threats to take children into state custody. Save Ukraine helps families with children leave: 0 800 333 129.
What people are jailed for. Transfers for the Ukrainian army, even 1,000 hryvnias (12 years); social media comments (5.5 and 6 years); contacts with Ukrainian 'representatives'. Ukrainian songs and symbols bring fines. In 2025 at least 134 people in the occupied territories were convicted of treason or espionage. First interrogations usually happen without a lawyer. Human rights groups document torture and incommunicado detention.
Phone. In the street and at checkpoints people's photos, chats, contacts and Ukrainian banking apps are checked; people have been detained and beaten after such checks. Not having MAX installed may raise suspicion. MAX has no end-to-end encryption and reports VPN use. Human rights groups warn that a 'wiped' phone also raises questions, and deleted data often survives in the cloud and on the other person's phone.
Contact with Ukraine. Many Ukrainian rights groups are 'undesirable' in Russia: the Crimean Human Rights Group, the Crimean Tatar Resource Centre, ZMINA, the Center for Civil Liberties, MIHR. Taking part brings a fine and a repeat a criminal case; a donation to such an organisation is a criminal case at once (CAO art. 20.33, CC art. 284.1). Contact with Ukrainian security services can be treated as treason or 'confidential cooperation' (CC arts. 275, 275.1), with sentences up to life. It is safer for relatives outside occupation to contact Ukrainian bodies. The ICRC works legally in Russia: 8 800 600 92 69.
Designations of organisations in this guide: Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) (undesirable); ZMINA Human Rights Centre (undesirable); Center for Civil Liberties (undesirable); Crimean Human Rights Group (undesirable); Crimean Tatar Resource Center (undesirable). Contacting them carries a risk: do not write from a phone that may be seized, and do not repost their materials.
Free help for Ukrainians to leave occupied territories and Russia, where they were taken against their will: route, escort, humanitarian and psychological support.
A call to the +380 number from a Russian SIM card stays in the operator's records.
The only official bot is @helpingtoleave_bot. It never asks for money or SMS codes.
Charity that evacuates children, families and young people from occupied areas, Russia and Belarus, including when the child is there and parents are in Ukraine or Europe; route advice, then shelter, documents and psychological support. Reports 1,763 children rescued.
Works specifically with people under occupation and in Russia and promises confidentiality. The 0 800 number is free from Ukrainian numbers. A trace of contact on your phone is dangerous during checks. No status in Russia found (no independent reports).
Call →0800333129(a call stays in the phone log and with the operator)
Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights (Ombudsman)
Ukrainian state body. Staff work permanently at the Domanove crossing; passes lists of detained civilians to the ICRC and the Russian side; works on returns from deportation centres and the Georgian border; takes reports on property seizure; consultation centre on finding children.
Messages with a Ukrainian state body on your phone are dangerous during checks. The main number is now 1678. The old 0 800 50 17 20 is no longer listed on the website; it still worked in May 2026, but it is unclear for how long. It is safer for relatives outside the occupied territories and Russia to make contact. A Ukrainian state body; no status found in Russian registers.
Neutral intermediary: takes family requests to trace missing military and civilians, passes information and family messages. Visits detainees in Ukraine; last visit in Russia was in 2024. Works confidentially.
A relatively safe channel for people in Russia or under occupation: there is a free Russian number. No guarantee of results. The ICRC is not present in the occupied parts of the Kherson and Zaporizhzhia regions. It works officially in Russia (a delegation in Moscow, teams in Donetsk and Luhansk).
Takes damage claims, including loss of access to property in occupied territories (A3.6), forced displacement within Ukraine (A1.1) and abroad (A1.2, since February 2026; people with temporary protection or asylum count as displaced automatically). Filing only via Diia, also possible from abroad. No payouts yet; the register records damage.
You need Ukrainian documents and Diia; traces of the application on your phone are dangerous during checks. Human rights groups advise filing after you leave. A Council of Europe body; no status found.