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Author

Kseniya Kvitka photo

Kseniya Kvitka

Kseniya Kvitka is an Assistant Researcher with Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division. She covers Ukraine, where she documents war crimes and human rights abuses. Previously, she worked with international and Ukrainian non-governmental organizations. Kseniya holds a master’s degree in political science from Ukraine’s National University of “Kyiv-Mohyla Academy.” She is based in Kyiv.

Articles

 protest against the law that strips Ukraine’s anti-corruption agencies of independence in Kyiv, Ukraine, on July 30, 2025

The light Ukraine cannot lose: Justice

by Kseniya Kvitka
About the author: Kseniya Kvitka is an assistant researcher with Human Rights Watch’s Europe and Central Asia Division. She is based in Kyiv. As I sat down to write this, my apartment, like many others in Kyiv, routinely went dark. My internet router switched to a portable power station, and the laptop continued running on its battery. I reached for the small camper stove we now use to make coffee during long outages. Russia’s recent attacks on Ukraine’s power infrastructure have brought roll
A Ukrainian soldier hugs his partner

Opinion: Silent victims of sexual violence, Ukraine’s male POWs deserve real support

by Kseniya Kvitka
This article contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence, which may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Forced nudity during “welcome beatings,” naked “crouch walking,” and gratuitous stripping and body cavity searches are but a few examples of the abuse Viktor Lakhno, 26, a former prisoner of war (POW), endured in Russian custody. Ukrainian men detained by Russian and Russian-affiliated forces, including prisoners of war, regularly report that their captors,