Concerns grow about the treatment of prisoners of war in Ukraine-Russia war

By Stefan J. Bos  

Officials say nearly 3,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been released from Russia in prisoner exchanges since Moscow launched its full-scale military invasion of Ukraine more than two years ago. 

However, more than 10,000 remain in Russian custody, some of whom have endured two years of conditions that a United Nations expert described as horrific.

There have also been reports about some abuses by Ukrainian forces against Russian troops, including beatings. 

Yet, Ukrainian authorities have been more open towards international groups and media to visit centers where they are held, perhaps limiting the number of abuses. 

However, critics say the Ukrainian government’s rehabilitation program, which usually involves two months in a sanitarium and a month at home, is inadequate. 

Experts point out that the traumas suffered by Ukrainian prisoners are growing with the length and severity of the abuse they are being subjected to as the war drags on.

The United Nations has well documented Russia’s torture of prisoners of war. Former inmates have spoken about relentless beatings, electric shocks, rape, sexual violence, and mock executions, seen by U.N. investigators as so a systematic, state-endorsed policy. 

Lingering symptoms 

Many detainees have also reported lingering symptoms like blackouts and fainting spells stemming from repeated blows to the head that were severe enough to cause concussions.

And more prisoners of war are expected as Russia moves on toward Kharkiv, Ukraine’s second-largest city in the northeast of the country. 

Shocked residents, including a woman, were lying on the ground as an apparent drone fired by Russia hit Kharkiv, footage showed. Several drones and missiles have hit apartment blocks and industrial areas, though Moscow claims it is targeting strategic military sites. 

Outside Kharkiv, Russian forces continued their advance across northeastern Ukraine on Sunday, seizing several small settlements along the border. They reportedly forced Ukrainian troops to retreat from some positions if they weren’t captured or killed. 

Aid workers confirmed that Russian troops had advanced deeper inside Ukrainian territory and were now threatening several small towns on the outskirts of Kharkiv.

However, Russian officials say at least five people were killed and nine wounded since Saturday in three separate Ukrainian counter-attacks involving drone and artillery strikes on the Russian border provinces of Belgorod and Kursk and the Ukrainian city of Donetsk, which Russia claims to have annexed. 

It has underscored growing concerns about the escalation of the war since Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, with hundreds of thousands of people being killed and injured.