Oleksandra Matviychuk
Prominent human rights campaigner Oleksandra Matviychuk has warned that human rights violations would follow a Russian invasion (PIcture: Oleksandra Matviychuk)

A leading human rights lawyer in Ukraine has warned that a Russian invasion would bring a wave of ‘torture and tyranny’.

Oleksandra Matviychuk, the founder and head of the Centre for Civil Liberties, said that Ukrainians would fight ‘to defend freedom and human dignity’ if Moscow orders its troops over the border.

Mrs Matviychuk described the tensions as a fight between ‘civilisation and authoritarianism’ and she hoped ‘the world will not stand by and watch’.

Her work has included documenting alleged war crimes in Crimea, which was annexed by Russia in 2014, and the breakaway regions within Donbass, which she says can be traced to high levels of the Russian state.

The human rights defender spoke as tensions continued to run high, with more than 100,000 Russian troops massed at the border and US officials saying there is ‘every indication’ Vladimir Putin will order an attack after the Winter Olympics in February.

Mrs Matviychuk, 38, warned that an occupation would bring systematic violations of freedoms and human rights that she alleges are widespread in the breakaway regions.

Speaking to Metro.co.uk from Kyiv, she said: ‘A Russian invasion would bring negative impacts including torture and tyranny.

‘Since the annexation of Crimea and the rebellion in the east of Ukraine my organisation has been documenting political persecution and war crimes.

‘These include abduction, torture, rape and murder.

‘I have spoken with several hundred people who were illegally detained and they have told me about different forms of torture in the Donbass regions, where those involved included Russians in a systematic chain of interrogation and torture that goes to a high level of the Russian Federation.

‘In some cases, the victims were able to tell me their ranks.

‘If an invasion takes place, such incidents will become widespread across Ukrainian territory. Russia uses war crimes and technology as a tool of conducting war, controlling the population and liquidating the opposition.’

Oleksandra Matviychu
Oleksandra Matviychuk has documented human rights abuses in eastern Ukraine which she says would accompany an invasion (Picture: Oleksandra Matviychuk)

The lawyer described an uneasy feeling in the capital, Kyiv, with negotiations between NATO allies and Russia stalling over Moscow’s demands, which broadly entail a huge drawdown in support for Ukraine.

‘People are confused,’ she said.

‘You go to work but you have to think about what to do if an invasion happens, such as watching a video about medical care. If you come to Kyiv you will see that people are going about their daily business, the shops are open, the pharmacy is open and they are going to work.

‘But there’s a very high level of uncertainty. We have received a lot of signals from the international community that Russia will invade and some embassies have been evacuated.’

KYIV, UKRAINE - JANUARY 22: Civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train on a Saturday in a forest on January 22, 2022 in Kyiv, Ukraine. Across Ukraine thousands of civilians are participating in such groups to receive basic combat training and in time of war would be under direct command of the Ukrainian military. While Ukrainian officials have acknowledged the country has little chance to fend off a full Russian invasion, Russian occupation troops would likely face a deep-rooted, decentralised and prolonged insurgency. Russia has amassed tens of thousands of troops on its border to Ukraine. (Photo by Sean Gallup/Getty Images)
Ukrainian civilian participants in a Kyiv Territorial Defence unit train in a forest (Picture: Sean Gallup/Getty)
DONETSK REGION, UKRAINE ? JANUARY 24, 2022: A damaged house in the village of Vesyoloye. The Donetsk People's Republic has registered Ukrainian Armed Forces units preparing for an offensive inside the Kiev? force operation in Donbass. The People' Militia has said it will respond if Kiev starts a forceful resolution of the Donbass conflict. In April 2014, Kiev?s authorities launched a military operation in Donbass after the Donetsk People's Republic and Lugansk People's Republic proclaimed their independence following a coup in Ukraine in February 2014. Valentin Sprinchak/TASS
A damaged house in the self-proclaimed Donetsk People’s Republic in the Donbass region, to the east of Ukraine (Picture: Tass/PA Images)

Mrs Matviychuk has authored numerous reports about the human rights situation in Ukraine and was recognised by the US Embassy as a ‘Ukrainian Woman of Courage’ in 2017.

She was praised for her ‘courageous dedication in defending the rights of the Ukrainian people’ and she envisages continuing her work as long as she is able in the event of an invasion.

‘What I can say for sure is that if Russia invades, Ukrainians will fight back,’ Mrs Matviychuk said. ‘Freedom has always come first for Ukrainians. People don’t want war, but if Russia starts it, we will defend people, we will defend freedom, we will defend human dignity.

‘No one knows what war would bring, whether it would be a corridor near Crimea or if they would occupy the capital. What I do know for sure is that human rights defenders, journalists and political opponents will be the first targets of Russia.

Armed servicemen wait near Russian army vehicles outside a Ukranian border guard post in the Crimean town of Balaclava March 1, 2014. Ukraine accused Russia on Saturday of sending thousands of extra troops to Crimea and placed its military in the area on high alert as the Black Sea peninsula appeared to slip beyond Kiev's control. (Picture: Reuters)
Armed servicemen wait near Russian army vehicles outside a Ukrainian border guard post in Crimea during the annexation in 2014 (Picture: Reuters)
FILE - A convoy of Russian armored vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea, Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022. With tens of thousands of Russian troops positioned near Ukraine, the Kremlin has kept the U.S. and its allies guessing about its next moves in the worst Russia-West security crisis since the Cold War. (AP Photo, File)
A convoy of Russian armoured vehicles moves along a highway in Crimea on January 18, 2022 as fears of an invasion into Ukraine mount (Picture: AP)

‘It doesn’t matter that we are not soldiers, I have seen what they did in the Donbass. Terror was used against civilians as a tactic to retain control over the region. I will stay in Ukraine whatever happens and I will carry on my human rights work as long as I can.’

The UK and US have airlifted ‘lethal aid’ to Ukraine and pledged to deploy troops in neighbouring countries in eastern Europe if the Russian President does make real an invasion. America’s Deputy Secretary of State said on Wednesday that Putin may wait until after the Winter Olympics to advance over the border so as not to upset hosts China.

A warning has also been issued by Ukraine’s ambassador to the UK that millions of refugees could flee into Europe if fighting erupts.

‘This is not just about relations between Russian and Ukraine, this is a confrontation between civilisation and authoritarianism that has been going for years,’ Mrs Matviychuk said.

‘In this fight, we defend not only Ukrainian sovereignty, freedom and human dignity, we defend the values of the free world. We hope the world will not stand by and watch.’

Oleksandra Matviychuk has described an uneasy feeling on the streets of Ukraine as life goes on as amid fears of an invasion (Picture: Oleksandra Matviychuk)

The Kremlin has accused the West of being the aggressor and signalled that Moscow is prepared to take ‘retaliatory measures’.

In a statement earlier this week, the Russian Embassy in London accused the UK of ‘constantly stoking anti-Russian sentiments’ while not taking part in ‘genuine diplomacy’ to allay the Ukraine tensions.

Metro.co.uk has approached the Embassy for further comment about the alleged human rights abuses.


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