More than 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia have reported being tortured — UN
More than 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights reported being subjected to torture or ill-treatment while in Russian captivity.
According to the UN, since the start of the full-scale war, more than 2,100 confidential interviews have been conducted, including with 910 Ukrainian prisoners of war and 403 civilians following their release.
The organization has also documented the executions of 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war and the deaths of another 48 people as a result of torture, denial of medical care, or inhumane conditions of detention.
More than half of the prisoners of war interviewed reported sexual violence. Among the documented methods of torture were brutal beatings, electric shocks, attacks by dogs, and mock executions.
The UN also reported that more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians remain unlawfully detained by Russia. According to UN representatives, 85% of the civilians interviewed who were released from Russian captivity also reported torture and ill-treatment.
Source: UN.
Crimean Tatar human rights activist Leniye Umerova stated during a UN Security Council meeting that Russia systematically uses unlawful detentions, fabricated cases, isolation, and torture to keep Ukrainian civilians in captivity.
It is becoming increasingly difficult for the families of Ukrainian prisoners of war to find out where their loved ones are being held. Human rights activists say that the Russian system has become even more secretive: official responses often contradict one another, and access to information and lawyers is constantly being restricted.
