Systematic Torture and Deaths of Ukrainian Prisoners of War in Russian Prisons

May 29, 2025.

    Since the beginning of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, more than 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war have died while being held in Russian prisons. According to a 2024 UN report, 95% of released Ukrainian POWs reported experiencing systematic torture and inhumane treatment.
    
    Prisoners recounted severe beatings, electric shocks, strangulation, sexual violence, prolonged stress positions, mock executions, and sleep deprivation. International human rights organizations, including Amnesty International, have condemned these actions as gross violations of international humanitarian law and are urging accountability and justice for those responsible.
    
    These atrocities are seen not as isolated incidents, but as part of a coordinated policy aimed at breaking the will of Ukraine's defenders and intimidating others. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission continues to document such crimes and provide legal support for international investigations.