Russian military shoot 5 Ukrainian POWs near Vuhledar in Donetsk Oblast
The Security Service of Ukraine has launched an investigation into the killing of Ukrainian soldiers near Vuhledar, from which Ukrainian forces withdrew on Oct. 2.
Prisoners of war
Russian military shoots 6 Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk Oblast, Prosecutor General's Office says
Russian troops shoot six captured Ukrainian Armed Forces soldiers in the Pokrovsk sector of the front line in Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office reported on Nov. 5.
Finishing off the defenseless: How the Russians execute Ukrainian soldiers
Warning: This article contains graphic photos and descriptions of graphic scenes. A decomposed human hand with the remains of flesh, bleak and brown save for one splash of color — two thin blue-yellow rubber bracelets. The colors of the Ukrainian national flag. The hand was from a body of the hundreds
Russia executed 2 Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk Oblast, prosecutors say
Russian soldiers executed two captured Ukrainian soldiers near Selydove in Donetsk Oblast, the Donetsk regional prosecutor's office reported on Oct.21.
Released activist Butkevych says prisoner swap was complete surprise
"Yesterday morning, after the inspection, they told me that I was leaving in half an hour, but they didn't tell me where. ... We found out about the exchange by accident on the way."
Kursk Oblast conscripts among Russians returned in POW exchange, Russian organization says
The returned prisoners also reportedly included some mobilized Russian fighters and contract soldiers, including kadyrovtsy, the notoriously ruthless troops named for Chechen strongman Ramzan Kadyrov.
Azov soldiers, human rights activist Butkevych among those returned in 190-person prisoner swap
Ukraine and Russia on Oct. 18 conducted their 58th prisoner exchange, involving 190 prisoners of war, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced.
Ukraine war latest: Oil depots on fire in 2 Russian regions
Key developments on Oct. 4: * Oil depots on fire in Russia's Voronezh Oblast, Perm Krai * Russian forces less than 7 km away from Pokrovsk, authorities say * At least 177 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian captivity, Kyiv says * EU readies to sanction Iran over missile shipments to Russia, Bloomberg reports
Russia has summarily executed at least 93 Ukrainian POWs on battlefield, top prosecutor says
Yurii Belousov, the head of the department focused on war-related crimes, explained that 80% of these cases were recorded in 2024, but the trend appeared already late last year.
Opinion: Silent victims of sexual violence, Ukraine’s male POWs deserve real support
This article contains descriptions of physical and sexual violence, which may be disturbing to some readers. Reader discretion is advised. Forced nudity during “welcome beatings,” naked “crouch walking,” and gratuitous stripping and body cavity searches are but a few examples of the abuse Viktor Lakhno, 26, a former prisoner of
Russian POW phone call restrictions spotlight Ukraine, Russia’s treatment of prisoners
Last week, Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets announced that Russian prisoners of war (POWs) would no longer be able to make phone calls to relatives. They are still allowed to communicate through letters, meeting Geneva Convention requirements, he noted. The decision came after recent increases in reports of violations of
Venezuela extradites 2 Colombians to Russia for fighting in Ukraine
Russian authorities detained two Colombian nationals who fought for Ukraine, Russia's Security Service (FSB) said on Aug. 30. The two Colombian men were extradited from Venezuela after being detained by Venezuelan authorities during a layover in Caracas, on-route back home to Colombia.
Russian POWs on their capture in Kursk Oblast: ‘Commanders just disappeared'
Halfway down a narrow corridor painted all in gray, the guard wrestles with a bulky lock to gain entry to the prison cell. Inside are around twenty young men, sitting on a criss-crossing pattern of metal bunk beds. In the corner of the room, plastic cups and books are stacked
Ukrainian forces storm penal colony in Kursk Oblast where Ukrainian prisoners were held, human rights activists say
The seizure of the penal colony will be an important step in documenting war crimes committed by Russia against prisoners of war, Media Initiative for Human Rights reported on Aug. 23.
Russian prosecutors seek up to 24 years in prison for 23 Ukrainians who served in Azov Brigade
The Russian Prosecutor's Office claimed that all the prisoners expressed "negative attitudes toward the Russian-speaking population" and supported "pro-Ukrainian radical views."
UN representative in Ukraine reports torture of Ukrainian POWs in Russian captivity
The head of mission for the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Bell, reported that Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia and occupied Ukrainian territories are systematically subjected to torture.
Azov soldier Oleksandr Ishchenko dies in Russian captivity, Ukraine's Ombudsman says
Ishchenko was 55-years-old and a native of Mariupol, Ukrainska Pravda reported. He joined the Azov Brigade as a driver shortly after the launch of Russia's full-scale invasion and was captured in Mariupol in 2022.
Ukraine announces charges in absentia of 2 pro-Russian collaborators over Olenivka POW killings
The Prosecutor General's Office said the investigation involved statements from 20 victims and 30 eyewitnesses, as well as forensic evidence of those killed. The two unnamed Russian commanders have been charged in absentia with violating the laws of war.
2 years after Ukrainian POWs killed in Olenivka camp explosion, no one prosecuted
Two years after an explosion killed at least 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war and injured over 150 more at a penal colony in Russian-occupied Olenivka, Donetsk Oblast on July 28-29, 2022, no one has been held accountable as Russia continues to block investigation efforts.
95 Ukrainian POWs released from Russian captivity
Another 95 Ukrainian defenders have been brought back home, including service members of the Armed Forces, the National Guard, and the Border Guard, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on July 17.
Ukraine lists 42,000 citizens as missing persons
Ukraine lists 42,000 citizens in a unified register for persons missing under special circumstances, an Interior Ministry official said, Ukrinform reported on July 17.
Russia uses injured soldiers, POWs in human wave attacks, Telegraph reports
Ukrainian soldiers have said that Russia often fails to evacuate injured troops and at times sends its own wounded soldiers back to the battlefield.
Ukraine brings back 90 POWs from Russian captivity
The released captives include 32 personnel of the National Guard, including those who defended the Chornobyl Nuclear Power Plant, 18 border guards, 17 personnel of the Navy, 15 soldiers of the Armed Forces as well as eight of the territorial defense, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported.
Russian soldiers who executed Ukrainian POWs near Robotyne identified, military intelligence says
A video taken in the second half of May captured Russian troops executing four surrendering Ukrainian soldiers near Robotyne, a front-line village in the southern Zaporizhzhia Oblast.
Russia not interested in all-for-all POW exchange, Ukraine's ombudsman says
"If the Russians were interested in returning their prisoners of war, we would have done it long ago. It seems that they simply do not need them," Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on June 15.
Ukraine's military intelligence disputes POW figures given by Putin
Ukraine's military intelligence spokesperson, Andrii Yusov, disputed Russian President Vladimir Putin's claims on the numbers of Ukrainian and Russian prisoners of war (POW) in a comment for the Liga outlet on June 6.
Ombudsman asks UN, Red Cross to investigate videos of alleged abuses of Ukrainian POWs
Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on June 2 that he appealed to the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to investigate videos showing beatings, humiliation, and threats of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers in the Kharkiv direction.
75 Ukrainian prisoners brought back from Russian captivity
The number includes service personnel of the Armed Forces and the National Guard, border guards, and four civilians.
The Counteroffensive: Inside Ukraine's prisoner of war negotiations with Russia
Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on May 12, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. Prisoner negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are one of the many things obscured
Ukraine pins hopes on international pressure to conduct all-for-all prisoner exchange
As Ukraine prepares for a major peace summit in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky sees an opportunity to free all Ukrainian prisoners from Russia before the end of the war. After the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has seized thousands of Ukrainians, from soldiers to children, adding them to the
HRW: Russia executes surrendering Ukrainian soldiers in possible war crimes
Since last December, Russian forces likely executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to surrender and possibly six who were already surrendering or had surrendered, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on May 2.
'I’d be a king in Somalia with this money:’ Foreign POWs on being lured to fight for Russia in Ukraine
Adil Muhammad, a Somali, sits in a Russian military uniform among other prisoners of war (POWs) in a press conference in Ukraine’s capital in mid-March. The former infantryman was captured in combat near Marinka in Donetsk Oblast while fighting with the Russian army in Ukraine in early 2024, five
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