Denisova: Twenty-three civilians killed in eastern Ukraine due to Russia’s aggression last year

In 2020, twenty-three civilians were killed in Donetsk and Luhansk regions due to the armed aggression of the Russian Federation.

"The armed aggression of the Russian Federation results in the violation of the right of region's inhabitants to life and safety. In 2020, 128 civilians were injured in the shelling, 23 of them were killed," Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Liudmyla Denisova said during the presentation of the annual report on observance and protection of human and civil rights and freedoms in Ukraine, an Ukrinform correspondent reports.

As noted, 7.8% of reports on human rights violations in 2020 concerned the rights of internally displaced persons, showing a fourfold increase compared to 2019.

In addition, in March–December 2020, there was a 25-fold decrease in the number of entry-exit checkpoint crossings by residents of the occupied territories due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Denisova also spoke about the violation of the right of IDPs and civilians, who remained living in the temporarily occupied territories, to receive pension benefits. In particular, court decisions on the return of renewed payments by the Pension Fund are not enforced, debts amount to almost UAH 11 billion.

The right of Ukrainians living in the temporarily occupied territories to document the facts of birth or death is violated.

"The complicated procedure pushes our citizens to obtain passports of the Russian Federation and register these facts in the occupation administration’s bodies," the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights said.

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