Ukraine - November 2022

Ukrainian troops re-entered the port city of Kherson in southern Ukraine on 11 November, bringing the city with a pre-war population of 300,000 back under Ukrainian control for the first time since February 2022. Kherson is the regional capital of one of the four regions Russia claimed to have been annexed in an illegal and illegitimate referendum in September 2022. Human rights experts are researching reports of widespread torture and arbitrary detention under the eight-month occupation.

Note: Russia’s war on Ukraine directly implicates the Russian government in nearly all aspects of Ukrainian life and the performance of its political and democratic institutions. Any decline in Ukraine’s democratic attributes associated with the reported events does not necessarily, and in many cases, in no way indicates responsibility of the Ukrainian government or its people.

Sources: Politico, Meduza, NBC News, Associated Press

Russian attacks on civilian infrastructure are likely to lead to blackouts throughout the winter and require the evacuation of an unknown number of Ukrainian civilians, the Ukrainian government warned this month. The attacks have also necessitated the rationing of water and electricity. Rights groups have said Russia’s persistent and targeted attacks on critical civilian infrastructure amount to war crimes.

*The negative impact on democracy in Ukraine in this instance is a result of Russian action. 

Sources: Reuters, New York Times, Amnesty International