What Is Happening To Ukrainian Prisoners Of War In Russia?

On October 18, 2023, relatives of Ukrainian Azov regiment war prisoners held a rally at St. Sophia Square in Kyiv calling for their quick exchange with Russian prisoners of war. Prisoner swaps between Ukraine and Russia are rare. While more than 2,500 Ukrainians have been released, up to 10,000 are believed to remain in Russian custody. Their fate is unknown. However, media reported that former Ukrainian captives testified that they were subjected to torture, including frequent beatings and electric shocks, while in custody at a detention facility in south-western Russia, in what would be serious violations of international humanitarian law. Earlier this year, BBC interviewed several former detainees released in prisoner exchanges who alleged physical and psychological abuse by Russian officers and guards. The abuse is said to take place in the Pre-Trial Detention Facility Number Two, in the city of Taganrog. It is one of the locations where Ukrainian prisoners of war have been held in Russia.

Reports of detainees being subjected to abuse are not new. In November 2022, the Head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, presented the results of their interviews with 159 prisoners of war (139 men and 20 women) who were held by the Russian Federation (including by affiliated armed groups). Commenting on the findings, Ms Bogner stated that “Immediately upon capture, some [Ukrainian prisoners of war] were beaten or had their personal belongings pillaged. The prisoners of war were then transported to places of internment in a manner that raised concerns. They were often taken in overcrowded trucks or buses and sometimes lacked access to water or toilets for more than a day. Their hands were tied and eyes covered so tightly with duct tape that it left wounds on their wrists and faces.” She further added that “Upon arrival at certain places of internment, prisoners of war were subjected to so-called ‘admission procedures’, which frequently involved prolonged beatings, threats, dog attacks, being stripped and put into stress positions. Witnesses told us about the death of at least one prisoner of war during an ‘admission procedure’ in the penal colony near Olenivka in mid-April 2022. We have received information about eight other such alleged deaths there in April 2022 and we are working to corroborate them.”