Over 90% of Ukrainian POWs tortured in Russia, says Ukraine's Foreign Minister
Photo: Andrii Sybiha (Vitalii Nosach/RBC-Ukraine)
Over 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia have been subjected to torture and abuse, the press service of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine reports.
"Our prisoners of war are held there (in Russian captivity – ed.) in absolutely inhumane conditions, without proper medical care or the ability to communicate with their families. All of them return in a state of critical physical and psychological exhaustion," Andrii Sybiha, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, noted.
According to Sybiha, 90% of Ukrainian prisoners of war are subjected to torture by Russia. He added that the Prosecutor General's Office of Ukraine has already recorded more than 175,000 war crimes.
Sybiha stressed that for Russia, war crimes are a tool of warfare, and emphasized that the law ceases to function wherever the foot of the Russian soldier steps.
"Russia is illegally detaining and forcibly relocating civilians, including abducting children. And Russia is deliberately destroying civilian infrastructure. Human life is not a value for the aggressor," the Minister added.
Prisoner exchanges
During the first and second rounds of negotiations between Ukraine and Russia in Istanbul, agreements were reached on prisoner exchanges—first in the format 1,000-for-1,000, and then on the exchange of all severely wounded, seriously ill, as well as prisoners of war aged 18 to 25.
The Ukrainian side stated that it would not disclose the number of returned prisoners until all exchanges under the agreement are completed.
At the same time, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said that since the start of Russia's full-scale invasion, 5,857 Ukrainians have been brought home. Another 555 people were freed outside of exchange procedures.
