Voice of Ukrainian Civilian Hostages

We continue our work to highlight the issue of abductions of Ukrainian civilian hostages. Thousands of civilian Ukrainians have been forcibly abducted by russia and held captive in appalling conditions. Often their whereabouts and health condition remain unknown.

The main problem is that under international law it is prohibited to take civilians prisoner, and there is no mechanism for the return of civilian prisoners abducted by russian forces.

Therefore, the public should continue to highlight and actualize the problem of abduction of Ukrainian civilian hostages for foreigners in order to increase pressure on russia to return these people home as soon as possible.

Our goal was to draw the attention of the German-speaking audience to the problem of civilian Ukrainians in captivity and victims of enforced disappearances, to tell them the stories of these people and to encourage them to become the voices of the hostages by sharing their stories.

To do this, we used more than 80 outdoor advertising spaces in Berlin, the capital of Germany. The messages, which told Berliners that “waiting 5 minutes for coffee is normal, but more than 700 days in detention is not,” were intended to remind them of the consequences of the war in Ukraine for innocent civilians.

The campaign was also reinforced by social media support with short videos that contrasted the difference between peaceful life and imprisonment.

We are grateful to our partners for sharing the stories and providing information support.

The world needs to hear the stories of Ukrainian civilian hostages.