Russia holds Ukrainian prisoners in over 300 locations — Lubinets
Russia is detaining Ukrainian civilians and military personnel in over 300 locations, including 186 sites specifically for prisoners of war. The Ukrainian authorities know the exact locations of all facilities where Ukrainian citizens are held in Russia.
This was stated by Dmytro Lubinets, Ukraine’s Human Rights Commissioner at the Verkhovna Rada, in an interview with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
“We know. We know all the places where Russians are holding Ukrainians — both prisoners of war and civilians. Imagine: at this moment, it’s over 300 locations. 186 of these are used to detain Ukrainian military personnel, and additionally, there are places where civilians are held as hostages. This is a huge scope of work,” Lubinets said. The data was collected with the help of Ukrainian intelligence agencies.
Lubinets explained that Russia conceals the actual whereabouts of Ukrainian prisoners. For example, when Ukraine knows exactly that one of its citizens is being held in a specific location in Russia, the country-terrorist often does not acknowledge it.
“We have examples where the Russian side refused to accept letters, saying: ‘This person does not exist here.’ After some time, we provided details — the person is in this penal colony, in this cell number. They then accepted and delivered the letters,” Lubinets said.
In 2025, nearly 5,000 appeals were submitted regarding violations of rights during mobilization, according to Lubinets.
