Press Release
Published on February 18, 2026
In a report released today to mark this week’s anniversaries of the 2014 and 2022 Russian invasions, human rights activists in Ukraine warn that whether or not ongoing peace talks with Russia produce an imminent breakthrough, many of the country’s most serious human rights challenges will persist long after the fighting ends.
Human Rights First’s new report outlines pressing human rights issues currently confronting Ukraine, which are likely to endure beyond any ceasefire. “Local Human Rights Defenders urge that international attention not fade from these issues once the fighting stops,” said Human Rights First’s Senior Advisor and co-author of the report Brian Dooley.
Human Rights First has been working alongside Human Rights Defenders in Ukraine since the Russian invasion of 2014. Since the 2022 invasion, it has made 25 research visits to the eastern front of the war in the northwestern region of Kharkiv.
Today’s report focuses on seven urgent issues: the prosecution of war crimes, corruption, the disinformation war, LGBTQI+ rights, the mental health crisis, how suspected collaborators are prosecuted, and refugees who have left Ukraine being forced to return.
Drawing on the assessments of local activists, this report considers how each of these issues might develop in a post-conflict environment.
“Human Rights First has worked for decades with activists in conflict zones and during revolutions, and understands the challenges of looking beyond the immediate crisis, and to start planning for what has become known as The Day After,” said Suchita Uppal, co-author of the report. “But post-conflict success in Ukraine will depend on how these issues are addressed.”
Ukraine will face a multitude of other challenges when the fighting stops, including what will happen if some of its citizens remain under Russian occupation, and redefining its relationships with the United States and the European Union. The country will also have to restart its economy, and to clear vast areas of its land contaminated by land mines.
The report’s recommendations include that any peace deal or cease fire agreement should not trade away accountability for war crimes, and that Ukraine’s allies should publicly support and properly resource anti-corruption institutions and activists.
Read the full report here.
