9 out of 10 tortured: Ukraine reveals shocking scale of Russian captivity abuse
Photo: Andrii Yusov, a representative of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence (Vitalii Nosach, RBC-Ukraine)
At least 90 percent of Ukrainian prisoners of war released from Russian captivity suffered torture there. This fact demonstrates the extent of abuse of prisoners in Russian torture chambers and camps, says Andrii Yusov, a representative of Ukraine's Defense Intelligence.
“More than 90% of Ukrainian defenders returning from Russian captivity testify to systematic violations of the rights of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russian captivity at various stages of their stay in the hands of the invaders,” Yusov said.
This is public and official information, which is also available in the reports of UN commissions.
“This is the subject of work for Ukrainian law enforcement agencies, human rights defenders, and the international system, which is supposed to protect humanitarian law. Otherwise, what is the purpose of its existence?” he noted.
Yusov added that, unlike Russia, Ukraine adheres to international norms and the Geneva Conventions. Detention centers for Russians comply with international standards and are not used for torture.
Prisoner exchanges between Ukraine and Russia
On June 20, Ukraine and Russia held a new stage of a major prisoner exchange. A new group of seriously ill and severely wounded Ukrainian soldiers, many of whom had been held captive since 2022, returned home.
This exchange is part of the implementation of the prisoner exchange agreement reached on June 2 in Istanbul. Back then, Ukraine and Russia agreed to exchange in an all-for-all format wounded and seriously ill soldiers, as well as all prisoners aged 18 to 25.
As part of these agreements, five exchanges have already taken place - on June 9, 10, 12, 14, and 19. On June 19, Ukraine returned a group of wounded and seriously ill defenders from captivity. The exchange on June 20 was the sixth. The Coordination Center promises to announce the exact number of people exchanged when all stages are completed.
