According to Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin, 9 out of ten Ukrainian prisoners of conflict are subjected to bodily and ethical torture. But many are executed earlier than being taken prisoner.
Physical and ethical torture, sexual violence, unlawful convictions and violent executions: that is what Ukrainian prisoners of conflict endure as soon as held captive in Russia.
Ukrainian Prosecutor General Andriy Kostin says as much as 90% of all repatriated prisoners of conflict have reported being subjected to torture in Russian prisons, a critical violation of the Third Geneva Convention, to which Moscow is a signatory.
However, Russia is “decided to disregard the foundations of conflict,” Kostin mentioned.
The third Geneva Convention – one among 4 treaties in complete – units out particular guidelines for the therapy of prisoners of conflict, stating that prisoners of conflict must be handled humanely, adequately housed and supplied with enough meals, clothes and medical care.
According to it, humanitarian actions, together with these of the International Red Cross (ICRC) or some other neutral humanitarian group that could be undertaken to guard and rescue prisoners of conflict, shouldn’t be impeded.
And though the ICRC claims to have visited practically 3,500 prisoners of conflict in each Ukraine and Russia, it admits that “thus far the ICRC doesn’t have full entry to all prisoners of conflict.”
Ukrainian troopers coming back from Russian captivity and households of these nonetheless in Russian prisons say they don’t have any contact or info with folks detained in Russia, which means they do not even know if the POWs are alive.
The solely option to get details about Ukrainian prisoners of conflict in Russia was to attend for the alternate of prisoners of conflict, when a soldier would return dwelling or if a type of who had returned had extra details about those that remained in Russia, they instructed Euronews.
Serhii Rotchuk, an officer of the Azov Brigade, fight medic and defender of Mariupol, spent a yr in Russian captivity, the place he was subjected to torture, abuse and bodily and psychological violence.
He instructed Euronews that he noticed his fellow troopers prisoners in Russia sick and ethical circumstances.
“Almost everybody clearly has some type of well being drawback. They are stored in relatively troublesome circumstances with out ample medical assist,” Rotchuk mentioned.
“If they want medicine or endure from sure illnesses, they’re held in relatively troublesome circumstances and are continually subjected to torture, bullying, bodily or ethical violence.”
Waiting for the prisoners of conflict to return dwelling
Yevheniia Synelnyk has not heard from her brother Artem for 2 years. He is without doubt one of the defenders of Mariupol who turned an emblem of Ukraine’s resistance with their fierce protection of the Azovstal metal mill throughout the three-month full-scale invasion when the port metropolis was underneath siege.
He mentioned the very last thing he heard was that his brother had been transferred to a jail in Taganrog, a metropolis in Russia’s Rostov area, the place circumstances for prisoners are mentioned to be appalling.
She realized this from different POWs who met Artem throughout captivity after which shared some info together with her after they had been exchanged and returned to Ukraine.
ANNOUNCEMENTYevheniia can also be a consultant of the Association of Families of Defenders of Azovstal, created in June 2022, shortly after about 2,500 Ukrainian troopers surrendered to Russia on the orders of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy throughout the siege of the Azovstal metal plant in May of that ‘yr.
The affiliation’s spokeswoman, Marianna Khomeriki, instructed Euronews that worldwide organizations aren’t doing sufficient and that the households’ solely hope is for Ukrainian forces to take Russian troopers prisoner or “fill the alternate fund by capturing the occupiers.” .
“We can use this fund to save lots of the life and well being of our servicemen captured by the Russians,” he defined.
Khomeriki famous that the Russian command “usually doesn’t wish to get its folks again.”
ANNOUNCEMENTMoscow is especially reluctant to alternate the defenders of Mariupol, who had been solely exceptionally included in a latest alternate of prisoners of conflict in alternate for troopers of Chechen Ramzan Kadyrov, taken prisoner for the reason that begin of the Kursk incursion.
Is the Kursk execution an indication of broader intent?
Meanwhile, Russian forces executed 9 Ukrainian prisoners of conflict close to the village of Zeleny Shlyakh within the Kursk area simply final Thursday, in line with Ukrainian open supply investigations.
The US suppose tank Institute for the Study of War analyzed a picture of the aftermath of the execution, saying it “means that Russian forces disarmed, lined up, stripped and killed Ukrainian prisoners of conflict – a transparent indication of the premeditated nature of the ‘execution’. executions.”
The ISW says it has just lately noticed a rise in Moscow forces executing Ukrainian prisoners of conflict throughout the theater, including that Russian commanding officers are possible condoning, encouraging or giving them direct orders.
ANNOUNCEMENTRotchuk says the Russian navy makes no bones about it. “They spoke straight about this, that they’d orders, as they mentioned, to take prisoners or not. This is nearly a direct quote from their consultant of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation,” he defined.
“Russian propaganda goals to incite hatred in the direction of Ukrainians. It is a state coverage to destroy all the pieces that isn’t Russian. And if somebody doesn’t need, if one thing doesn’t wish to be Russian, or somebody doesn’t wish to be Russian, to belong to the Russia, they have to die.”
Azov Brigade, sufferer of propaganda
The Azov Brigade was particularly focused by this narrative.
Nestor Barchuk, the brigade’s authorized advisor, factors out that for ten years Azov has not acquired Western weapons and coaching resulting from alleged hyperlinks to far-right teams. As a consequence, this considerably diminished the unit’s potential, he says.
ANNOUNCEMENTIn June, the United States lifted the ban, saying a verification course of discovered no proof of great human rights abuses by the brigade.
“Who is aware of, if this ban had not existed for ten years, possibly the battle for Mariupol would have been completely different, and possibly the conflict map can be completely different now,” Barchuk instructed Euronews.
This didn’t change Moscow’s coverage in the direction of Ukrainian prisoners of conflict and particularly the defenders of Mariupol. About 900 Azov troopers stay prisoners in Russia, and about 100 have been sentenced to jail for what Russian prosecutors name “participation in a terrorist group.”
Barchuk believes this can be a clear sign that Ukraine should struggle to free its imprisoned women and men.
ANNOUNCEMENT“The solely approach for Ukraine to convey all its defenders house is to win the conflict,” he concluded.
