71. The armed groups do not recognize the authority of the Ukraine Government. In the areas of the east that they control the rule of law has collapsed. The police are de facto under the control of armed groups. Police investigations concerning crimes attributed to armed groups are not conducted. During evening hours, the police do not respond to phone calls made on the emergency line. Some courts continue operating, but even in these there have been examples of hearings being interrupted by armed groups entering the courtroom. 72. Public buildings, such as those hosting the local or regional branches of the Ministry of the Interior, the Office of the Prosecutor, the State Security Service (SBU) and local government institutions, are occupied and are often used to detain and torture civic activists, journalists or political opponents. Criminal proceedings or other legal measures initiated by the Ministry of the Interior and the Prosecutor General of Ukraine remain a dead letter in territories controlled by the armed groups. 73. The armed groups claim that they are putting into place parallel ‘institutions’. For example, they claimed a ‘prosecution system’ had been set up, and that a ‘court martial’ temporarily carried out (unlawful) judiciary functions. They claim that a special (illegal) ‘military police’ is in the process of being created as well as a Criminal Code and Criminal Procedure Code, replicated from the Russian equivalents. 74. The Ukrainian security operation involves the army, the military police (National Guard), the National Security Service (SBU) and a number of volunteers’ battalions.79 The involvement of battalions of volunteers (Donbas, Azov, Aydar, Dnipro, Ukraina, etc.) raises important questions. While they nominally operate under the command of the Ministry of the Interior or the Ministry of Defence, they would appear to enjoy a large degree of autonomy in their operation. There are allegations of human rights violations committed by these battalions. Currently four types should be distinguished: operational assignment battalions, special police forces battalions (both are under the Ministry of the Interior and function according to the law “On Police”), battalions of territorial defence (under the Ministry of Defence), and self-organised battalions who do not subordinate or report to State institutions. On 3 July, the Ministry of the Interior created a special department, which will oversee the activity of its battalions. However, the legal basis for the functioning of other battalions is not as clear. The Ministry of the Interior said it was deeply concerned about these groups and planned to reach out to as many of them as possible with a view to integrating them into existing battalions. This would solve the question of their legality and would also allow for coordination of their activities. It is imperative, for purposes of accountability, to clarify the legal framework within which these battalions operate. 75. Heavy armament, including tanks, military aviation and helicopters were used in addition to artillery. The armed groups also use heavy weaponry, including missiles and tanks. Incidents involving civilian deaths have occurred without any possibility to ascertain beyond any doubt whether the casualties were caused by Ukrainian forces or armed groups. Among them: a five-year-old and his mother were killed by mortar shelling in Slovyansk on 20 June; two Russian journalists were killed on 17 June during a mortar attack near Luhansk; 2 employees of the Public Utility Company “Water of Donbas” were killed by shelling at the water canal in the village of Semenivka on 10 June. 79 The first volunteer battalions appeared in mid-April in the eastern regions of Ukraine as small groups of proUkrainian activists who wanted to protect their neighbourhoods from the lawlessness of armed groups. Eventually more people joined. By the end of May, a number of battalions (each battalion is around 500 people) were formed. As of July, some have already been officially integrated into the structure of relevant Ministries. 145 | P a g e