Ukraine-Russia: No confidence vote in Ukrainian human rights ombudsman

Ukrainian MPs have submitted a vote of no confidence against the parliament’s human rights ombudsman Lyudmila Denisova, claiming that her work focusing on the rape of Ukrainians by Russian troops “distracted the global media” from the country’s real needs.

MPs claimed that some of her accusations against troops during the invasion "couldn't be confirmed with evidence [...] only harmed Ukraine and distracted the global media from Ukraine's real needs."

Yulia Paliychuk, spokeswoman for president Volodymr Zelensky’s ruling party, Servant of the People, said on her Telegram channel that 238 MPs had voted out Ms Denisova.

"Deputies have collected signatures of no confidence in the Commissioner for Human Rights Lyudmila Denisova," she wrote.

Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky addresses Danes via video projected on large screens at Copenhagen City Hall Square. Picture: Getty Images

The party criticised Ms Denisova’s failure to organise humanitarian corridors, protect and exchange prisoners, oppose the deportation of people and children from the occupied territories, and other human rights activities. Instead, they said her work had focused on numerous details of "unnatural sexual crimes" and "rape of children" in the occupied territories, which they said could not be confirmed by evidence.

The party said she had been dismissed from her five-year-term role, which she has held since 2018.

The parties of former president Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko voted against her dismissal.

Ms Denisova said that her removal would be a violation of the Ukrainian Constitution.

Earlier this week, Ms Denisova told news website Politico that Russia is increasingly trying to “Russify” areas of Ukraine under its control, citing documents that she said were obtained by Ukrainian intelligence services proving Russia’s plan for this began even before the initial invasion on 24 February. She has also repeatedly given media details of graphic cases of Russian soldiers raping Ukrainian women.

The chairwoman of the ZMINA Human Rights Center, Tetyana Pechonchyk, said there were no constitutional grounds to remove Ms Denisova from the post.

At the weekend, President Zelensky revealed he had fired the head of the security service for the eastern city of Kharkiv, claiming that he “did not work on the defence of the city from the first days of the full-scale war, but thought only about himself”.