Ukraine has failed to prevent or investigate “numerous” human rights violations committed last year against rights activists, political opponents, and ethnic minorities, according to Amnesty International. “2018 was marked by a sharp surge of violent attacks against a range of individuals and groups, often in the name of patriotism and ‘traditional values,’” the London-based human rights watchdog said on February 8. Amnesty said that those subjected to violence included journalists; human rights activists — in particular those defending the rights of women and members of the lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) community; members of ethnic minorities, especially Roma; and “those whose political views the attackers regarded as ‘pro-Russian.’”