Ukrainian special forces capture Russian soldier in Ukrainian uniform without firing a shot

A Ukrainian woman from Kharkiv, Oleksandra Kazarovytska, died while being illegally detained in a Russian pretrial detention center in occupied Crimea, according to a statement released on Nov. 5 by a Kharkiv language school she founded. Kazarovytska, who was 44 years old, had returned to the occupied city of Sevastopol to help her parents sell their apartment, with plans to relocate to Turkey.

The statement mentioned that she was detained by Russian occupation authorities after correspondence with a volunteer from the beginning of the full-scale invasion was discovered on her phone. Kazarovytska was held in solitary confinement, possibly in occupied Simferopol. She allegedly committed suicide on Oct. 25 after being held in solitary confinement for three months.

Her former colleagues described her as a young, talented, and bright person who was cruelly torn from life. International humanitarian law permits an occupying power to intern civilians if they are deemed a security threat, but only under strict conditions, including the right to appeal and regular reviews. A U.N. Human Rights Office report from September 2025 stated that Russia did not establish and apply such a procedure for detainees in occupied Ukraine.

Russia is estimated to be unlawfully holding about 16,000 Ukrainian civilians across 200 detention sites in Russia and occupied Ukraine, with only a few hundred people being repatriated. Meanwhile, Russia plans to build another pretrial detention center in Crimea capable of holding 1,500 people by 2030.