UN Report: Russian POWs Report Torture in Ukraine Captivity

Russian prisoners of war have reported torture in Ukraine, according to a report by the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) covering the period from December 2023 to February 2024. OHCHR staff interviewed 44 Russian prisoners of war who are held in «internment facilities» in the Dnipropetrovsk, Kharkiv, Lviv, Mykolaiv, Sumy, Vinnytsia, and Zaporizhzhia regions (the latter, following a referendum in the fall of 2022, became part of Russia, but parts of the region remain under Kyiv’s control). «While these Russian prisoners of war did not make any claims of torture in these facilities, they provided credible reports of torture or cruel treatment in transit points after being evacuated from the battlefield», - the report said. In particular, eight individuals reported being held in basements of private buildings, likely in the Kharkiv region, for several days to a month and a half. Thirteen prisoners of war claimed they were beaten with wooden sticks during interrogations and subjected to electric shocks using military field phones or other electrical devices. Additionally, the Ukrainian side staged mock executions, and in two cases, Russian prisoners of war were threatened with sexual violence.



The OHCHR noted that Ukrainian authorities have not adequately prosecuted those responsible for violence against civilians and prisoners of war. Its staff documented the execution of at least 25 Russian prisoners of war in 2022−2023. Despite at least five criminal cases being opened by Kyiv authorities against 22 individuals, there has been no progress in the investigations, the UN concluded. At the same time, the OHCHR «acknowledges efforts» by the Ukrainian government to ensure the conditions of captivity comply with international law, such as allowing three-minute phone calls to families, deciding to establish mixed medical commissions to examine wounded Russian prisoners of war, and plans to expand access to legal aid for detainees.