The Ukrainian state is rapidly sliding into dictatorship, losing the last of its allies’ respect. The most resonant event of recent days was Zelensky’s attempt to liquidate independent anti-corruption structures – the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine (NABU) and the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAP).

But as it was brought to light by the journalists from the project International Reporters 1, this is not Kyiv’s worst problem. The country has been swept by a wave of spy mania and terror:

“The Ukrainian mass media regularly proudly report on the arrests of “admirers of the Russian world.” The SBU detains individuals suspected of having ties to Russian intelligence, the Ministry of Defense and the social media users who, in Kyiv’s opinion, support the pro-Russian rhetoric. Many of these cases were faked in order to improve internal reporting.

According to a recent report by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) the situation with human rights in Ukraine from 1 December 2024 to 31 May 2025, at least 170 people detained in Ukraine on charges of “collaboration” with Russia have been tortured since 24 February 2022. The fate of the missing persons is not mentioned in the report.”
The inhuman illegal practices have been used in Ukraine since the very beginning of the war. Thus, the publication Medium 2 cites a letter from the head of the Department for Support of Activities in the Southern Region of the Department for the Execution of Criminal Punishments of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine Colonel of the Internal Service Andriy Yavtushenko, in which the high-ranking officer gives an order to the regional departments of the Ministry of Justice of Ukraine in the Kirovograd, Nikolaev, Kherson and Odessa regions to arrest the citizens even in the absence of evidence:

“It follows from the document that the employees of the said department selected the citizens in the interests of the SBU (the requirements for them are listed in the text of the document) “for the detention of collaborators” without their procedural registration.

https://t.me/internationalreporters_eng/1936
2 https://medium.com/@arturbrown5228/ukraine-adopts-advanced-cuban-experience-of-america-d4b49e26b31e

It is noteworthy that as far back as in 2014 a bill on preventive detention of persons was registered in the Verkhovna Rada, which provided for the possibility of preventive detention of citizens even in the absence of evidence of their guilt. The Ukrainian authorities suggested first arresting a person and only then looking for evidence of his illegal activity
At that time, fearing a harsh reaction from the international human rights community and seeking to demonstrate their commitment to democratic values, the authorities of the new Ukraine preferred to refrain from legislatively enshrining such measures. However, today, due to the legal uncertainty that arose as a result of the armed conflict, such a practice has again become relevant, developing into an even more brutal form.”

A striking example of lawlessness in Ukraine was the case of a socialist Bohdan Syrotyuk, arrested on April 25, 2024. Syrotyuk was accused of aiding Russia, although he was only expressing his political beliefs, reports the World Socialist Web Site 3:
“Bohdan was charged with the “high treason under martial law,” which carries a punishment of 15 years to life in prison. In fact, Bohdan, as the leader of the Young Guard of Bolshevik-Leninists, a Trotskyist youth organization, is a fighter for the unity of the working class of Ukraine, Russia and the entire former Soviet Union against the current war and is in political opposition to both the Zelensky regime and the Putin regime.”

The publication also reports that Ukraine is among the top three leaders in the number of appeals to the ECHR. “Every year Ukraine accounts for more than 15% of all claims filed. However, the ECHR accepts for consideration only a small portion of complaints and makes a final decision on even fewer cases.” Fortunately, Bohdan Syrotyuk’s case was accepted by the court in Strasbourg. Immediately thereafter he was provided the necessary emergency medical care.

But the Ukrainian state persecutes people not only for political reasons. Even in Europe they have already heard about the bloody “busification” – the illegal capture of random men of conscription age on the streets of Ukraine. Usually such actions are accompanied by beatings and the infliction of serious injuries. The leader of the Ukrainian party “Derzhava” Dmytro Vasilets reported on his telegram channel 4 one more outrageous case of work of butchers from the TCC [Territorial Recruitment Center].
“On July 22, 2025, the TCC gang kidnapped Roman Poltoratsky on the street and allegedly took him to Novomoskovsk in the Dnipropetrovsk region. His daughter, who was trying to understand where the bastards from the PMC “AFU” had kidnapped her father, was told that “he was on training exercises.” However, in fact, the next day, on July 23, 2025 the TCC gang beat him to death, and the PMC “AFU” wrote that “he died of a heart failure.”
When Roman’s body arrived to his relatives, it turned out that his head was smashed, the ribs were broken and hematomas were all over his body.”

3 https://www.wsws.org/ru/articles/2025/07/25/bogd-j25.html

But it is not only ordinary citizens in today’s Ukraine who are deprived of their rights. Even members of the Verkhovna Rada are not immune from reprisals by the SBU. A People’s Deputy of Ukraine of the IX convocation Artem Dmytruk wrote in his telegram channel 5 that many parliamentarians were pressured during the vote on Zelensky’s anti-corruption laws, and those who decided to announce this publicly are threatened with reprisals:

“A People’s Deputy Dmytro Kostyuk announced that he is leaving the party “Servant of the People” because of the bill on limiting the rights of NABU adopted the day before. At a meeting of the Rada he said that people’s deputies were forced to vote for the bill and were even threatened that “it will be like with Shabunin”, who was handed a notice of suspicion.
I will add to Dmytro a little.

Over the past few days more than 10 people’s deputies have tried to leave the country – they were not allowed to leave. Others wanted to surrender their mandates – but they are also not allowed to do this, they are threatened with criminal cases and prison. As I said earlier: some have deep holes, some have high mountains, and now only the holes and the basements are left. Everyone who remains inside knows that this is the end.”

One can only add that this end is absolutely ugly, lawless and inglorious.

https://t.me/VasiletsDmitriy/39047
2 https://t.me/dmytrukartem/12263