Eleven were sentenced in absentia as they had been released in prisoner exchanges, while 12 prisoners of war (POW) still held in Russia have been jailed to between 13 and 23 years in prison.
"Now, when we talk to the American side and our other partners about how to end the war, we talk about the release of prisoners as one of the first steps," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Ukraine has brought home 175 Ukrainian soldiers in a one-for-one prisoner exchange with Russia, President Volodymyr Zelensky announced on March 19.
Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets referred to a video circulating on social media that purportedly shows unarmed Ukrainian soldiers killed after being captured by Russian troops.
President Volodymyr Zelensky and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman met in Jeddah ahead of a high-stakes meeting between U.S. and Ukrainian officials.
Protesters demanded an "all-for-all" prisoner exchange before any peace deal with Russia is signed.
"Thousands of people are being held in Russia. And some of them have been held not only since 2022, but much longer, since 2014," President Volodymyr Zelensky said.
Some 36 Ukrainian POWs are being sought and may be in the city of Grozny, Chechnya, according to Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of POWs.
Key developments on Feb. 5: * Ukraine brings back 150 POWs from Russian captivity in prisoner swap * Ukraine strikes Russian oil facility, Buk air defense system overnight, military claims * UK pledges $69 million to boost Ukraine's resilience, grain deliveries to Syria * Ukraine's Defense Ministry introduces robotic units into army * Ukraine should
The released captives included members of the Navy, the Air Force, the Airborne Troops, the National Guard, the State Border Guard, the Territorial Defense Forces, and a police officer, according to the president.
Key developments on Feb. 3: * Trump seeks Ukrainian rare earths in exchange for aid, Kyiv keen to agree * Kursk operation, long-range strikes in Russia — Syrskyi outlines Ukraine's priorities * Ukraine's laser technologies 'already hit certain objects,' commander says * Biden admin's escalation fears, 'chaotic' organization delayed aid to Ukraine, Reuters reports
The National Police will conduct investigations to clarify the circumstances of the incident, locate the body, and gather further details.
According to Danielle Bell, the head of the U.N. Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Russian public figures have explicitly called for the inhumane treatment and execution of Ukrainian POWs.
Key developments on Jan. 23: * Russian forces suspected of killing 6 Ukrainian POWs in Donetsk Oblast * Ukrainian soldiers near Velyka Novosilka at risk of encirclement, spokesperson says * Zelensky clarifies comment on 200,000 peacekeepers, says figure depends on Ukrainian army size * NATO chief urges US to keep arming Ukraine, pledges
Ukrainian prosecutors are investigating a case of Russian troops summarily executing six Ukrainian captives in the embattled Donetsk Oblast, the Prosecutor General’s Office said on Jan. 23.
The bodies of 403 soldiers were recovered from Donetsk Oblast, while 57 and 12 bodies were brought back from Zaporizhzhia and Luhansk oblasts. Another 31 bodies were repatriated from morgues in Russia.
In December 1994, Russian troops launched a brutal and eventually unsuccessful military campaign against Chechen rebels, effectively beginning the First Chechen War. Thirty years later and two wars since, Chechnya, under strongman Ramzan Kadyrov, has become a key pillar of Russian President Vladimir Putin's oppressive regime. After losing the first
The Hungarian side "did not discuss anything" with Ukraine and "did not warn about its contacts with Moscow," said Dmytro Lytvyn, the presidential communications adviser, referring to Viktor Orban’s recent phone call with Vladimir Putin.
Russian occupation authorities in Donetsk jailed nine Ukrainian soldiers captured after defending Mariupol to between 24 years and a life sentence, the city's exiled authorities reported on Dec. 11.
They were stripped naked and shot dead, according to the prosecutors. In a picture published by the prosecutors, two blurred naked bodies are seen lying on the ground.
"The occupiers have no limit to cynicism and cruelty," Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said.
Ukrainian human rights commissioner Dmytro Lubinets said on Nov. 3 that Ukraine remains willing to receive its citizens and blamed Russia for slowing down the exchanges.
Chechen dictator Ramzan Kadyrov on Oct. 29 apparently boasted about using Ukrainian prisoners as human shields, claiming there were casualties among the captives after a drone strike on Chechnya.
"The killing of prisoners of war is a gross violation of the Geneva Conventions and an international crime. A criminal case has been opened over the violation of the laws and customs of war combined with premeditated murder," Kostin posted on X.
Ukraine's 3rd Assault Brigade managed to regain positions and free a group of captive Ukrainian soldiers during an engagement with a Russian sabotage group in Kharkiv Oblast, the unit said on Oct. 7.
Russian forces appear to have shot 16 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) in Donetsk Oblast, the largest recorded case of mass execution of surrendered soldiers on the battlefield, Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office said on Oct. 1.
"The vast majority of those released are people who had been held (in captivity) since the first days of the war,” said Ukraine's Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets in a statement.
Key updates on May 31: * Presidential Office confirms Washington allowed Kyiv to strike inside Russia with US arms near Kharkiv * 75 Ukrainian prisoners brought back from Russian captivity * Ukraine signs security agreements with Sweden, Norway, Iceland * Ukraine strikes ferry crossing, oil depots in Russia's Krasnodar Krai, General Staff says * SBU
The defense of the Azovstal steel plant, Ukraine's last stronghold during the Russian siege of Mariupol in the spring of 2022, remains one of the most heroic operations carried out by the Ukrainian soldiers to date. The plant was under constant Russian bombardment for nearly two months, and those stuck
Editor’s note: This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity. While hiding from almost non-stop Russian bombardment in the dark and cold bunkers of the Azovstal steel plant in Mariupol, Dmytro Kozatskyi took his most famous and arguably most valuable photographs. He showed the world what it was
Vladyslav Plahotnyk was accused of "participation in a terrorist organization" and "training for terrorism," by being a member of the Azov battalion which Russia has declared a terrorist organization.
Turkish Ombudsman Seref Malkoc is planning to visit Ukrainian prisoners of war who have been held in Russia, he said in an interview to Ukrinform on April 5.
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