More than 95% of Ukrainian POWs face torturе in Russian captivity - Ukrainian ombudsman
Photo: Dmytro Lubinets (Getty Images)
The ombudsman stressed that Russia "has turned torture into state policy" and uses it as a weapon.
"According to UN data, over 95% of Ukrainian POWs face systematic torturе, and as of the end of 2025, 337 Ukrainian POWs were deliberately and brutally executed by Russia," Lubinets said.
He urged world governments to increase pressure on Russia, ensure every crime is documented, and hold those responsible accountable.
"This issue is critically important — the world cannot remain uninvolved," Lubinets emphasized.
Russian war crimes
Russia has repeatedly been exposed for killing Ukrainian POWs, torturing them, and carrying out extrajudicial executions both in occupied territories and directly on the front lines.
In recent months, Ukrainian intelligence services and international human rights organizations have recorded a rise in such crimes, especially in the hottest areas of the front, including the Donetsk region.
For example, at the end of December in the Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region, Russian soldiers shot two captured Ukrainian defenders.
Earlier, on November 19, near the village of Kotlyne in the Pokrovsk district, Donetsk region, Russian soldiers executed five Ukrainian POWs. The defenders had been disarmed and were lying face down on the ground when a Russian soldier opened fire on them with an automatic weapon.
Additionally, on the outskirts of Zatyshshia in the Zaporizhzhia region, Russian forces killed two Ukrainian soldiers. Another incident occurred on November 14, when Russian soldiers executed three captured Ukrainian fighters.
