Demonstrations first broke out in the GBAO during the week prior after local officials rejected requests calling for their resignation over, among other things, the failure to investigate the death of a local resident during an arrest in November 2021.
In Khorugh, an unidentified armed group killed one of the demonstration organizers, who was also an informal leader of the region ( RFE/RL, ). In the Rushan district of the GBAO, 46 demonstrators were arrested on charges of membership in “criminal and extremist-terrorist groups” ( RFE/RL, ). In Tajikistan, the government continued its crackdown against organizers and participants of demonstrations against local authorities in the GBAO last week. Meanwhile, human rights organizations report that Chechen authorities abducted and tortured dozens of young men, forcing them to join the Russian armed forces in Ukraine as contracted soldiers ( RFE/RL, ). Authorities in several Russian regions announced voluntary recruitment drives to fight in Ukraine ( RFE/RL, ). In Russia, authorities of the Belgorod border region introduced new security measures, banning entry to several villages in the border area due to shelling of the region in recent weeks ( Kommersant, ). The Russian military also forcibly deported hundreds of civilians from the Donetsk region to Russia ( 24 Channel, ).ĭemonstrations in solidarity with Ukraine took place in** Belarus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Moldova, Montenegro, Poland, Portugal, Serbia, and Sweden **last week. Additionally, Russian forces continued to abduct civilians, including government officials and their family members, from occupied territories in the Zaporizhia, Kherson, and Kharkiv regions. On 26 May, Russian forces fired multiple rockets at civilian infrastructure in Kharkiv, reportedly killing nine civilians and injuring 19 ( BBC, ). With the Luhansk region almost entirely occupied by Russia, Russian forces continued their attempts to encircle Severodonetsk and cut off Ukrainian forces in the city ( ISW, The Washington Post, ).ĭozens of civilians1 were reportedly killed by Russian shelling and airstrikes in the eastern and southern regions of the country last week. Half of all political violence recorded last week occurred in the Donetsk region, where Russian and Russian-led forces claimed advancements in the Lyman area. In Ukraine, fighting between Russian and Ukrainian forces continued to center on the eastern regions of Donetsk, Luhansk, and Kharkiv last week. Meanwhile, fighting continued on the Armenia-Artsakh-Azerbaijan Line of Contact.
Demonstrations marking the second anniversary of George Floyd’s death on 25 May were recorded in the United Kingdom. Demonstrations in support of Ukraine, the LGBT+ community, and against climate change continued across the region.
In Tajikistan, the government cracked down on demonstrations against local authorities in the Gorno-Badakhshan Autonomous Region (GBAO). In Russia, state authorities tightened security in the Belgorod region bordering Ukraine and introduced measures to encourage military enlistment. Last week in Europe, Caucasus, and Central Asia, the Russian invasion of Ukraine continued into its fourth month.