Translated with AI
More than 40 member states of the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), including the Netherlands, have called for an independent investigation into the abuse of Ukrainian prisoners of war on Russian territory. This was reported by Dutch Foreign Minister Caspar Veldkamp on the social network X (former Twitter).
"Together with more than 40 OSCE countries, we are activating the Moscow Mechanism against Russia. We demand an investigation into allegations of torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war," Veldkamp wrote.
The incident will be examined within the framework of the OSCE Moscow Mechanism , an instrument that allows member states to initiate independent expert investigations in the event of serious human rights violations in one of the participating countries.
This mechanism was previously applied to Russia in 2018, in connection with reports of violations in Chechnya, and in 2022, after the start of a full-scale invasion of Ukraine.
The UN Human Rights Council Commission has previously found that Ukrainian servicemen in Russian captivity are subjected to systematic torture. The report, published in March 2024, noted that prisoners are regularly subjected to beatings and torture with electric current, including in the genital area.
An independent international commission has indicated that the use of torture is also being carried out by employees of the Russian Federal Security Service (FSB) .
According to the Associated Press , at least 206 Ukrainian prisoners had died as a result of abuse in Russian prisons by May 2025. These figures have been confirmed by Ukrainian forensic experts, human rights organizations and the UN.
The initiative to activate the Moscow Mechanism has received broad support among EU countries and other OSCE member states. Although the specific list of signatories has not yet been officially published, it is known that at least 41 countries have joined the statement.
An independent expert commission is expected to be formed in the coming weeks to begin collecting and analysing evidence.
