Translated with AI
The issue of prisoners of war in the Russian-Ukrainian war is very acute and sensitive for Ukrainian society.
Thousands of people are held captive on both sides.
While the locations and conditions of detention of Russian prisoners of war in Ukraine are closely monitored by human rights and international organizations and maintained in accordance with the 1949 Geneva Conventions for the Protection of Victims of War, the detention facilities for Ukrainians in Russia are not accessible for monitoring. Moreover, according to available information, camps have been established that are not part of the Federal Penitentiary Service system and do not officially exist.
Not only military personnel but also civilians have been captured, or rather, held hostage by Russians in the occupied territories of Ukraine since 2014. After February 24, 2022, their number increased exponentially.
In Russian camps and prisons, Ukrainians are subjected to unparalleled atrocities: approximately 90% of prisoners are subjected to torture. Not everyone survives such conditions.
Many were shocked and outraged when they saw a photograph of the inscription "Glory to Russia Z" burned into the abdomen of Andriy, a Ukrainian soldier who returned from Russian captivity. It is believed that the inscription was made by a medic during surgery for the soldier's serious injury.
Women are also subjected to unimaginable cruelty. At least 80% of women who survived captivity suffered sexual violence, and almost all suffered various forms of torture.
The reason for this situation is the lack of control and complete impunity of prison guards and "investigators," the already brutal prison "traditions" in Russia, compounded by hatred of Ukrainians for their love of freedom. Human life is of no value to the aggressor.
It is obvious that Russia as a state only encourages cruel treatment of Ukrainians, which is part of the state policy of genocide and terror.
We are seeing evidence that Stalin's practices of camps, murders and repressions have returned to modern Russia.
The widespread brutality of Russian intelligence and law enforcement agencies, not only against Ukrainians but also against citizens of other countries, is truly astounding. Unfortunately, some Tajik citizens have also experienced this.
Ukrainians are tortured in captivity both for entertainment and to force them to take responsibility for crimes they did not commit.
Torture and abuse, humiliation of human dignity, sexual violence, restrictions on movement, detention in cells exceeding their capacity, lack of medical care – this is an incomplete list of the ordeals that Ukrainians captured by the occupiers endure.
The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in Ukraine notes that "Russian authorities are subjecting Ukrainian prisoners of war to widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment."
The awareness of these horrors only strengthens our desire to return every single Ukrainian prisoner, as well as abducted Ukrainian children and captured civilians.
Since the beginning of full-scale Russian aggression, approximately 70 prisoner exchanges have been carried out, with a total of almost 6,000 people returned.
At the same time, Moscow propagandists constantly insist that the Ukrainian side allegedly does not want to take its people back, and that we have allegedly run out of “exchange funds.”
I think this is primarily aimed at a domestic audience – Russian society, since adequate people have long understood that lying is one of the main tools of Russian power.
During the 84-for-84 exchange on August 14, 33 sailors and border guards (including 10 officers) and 51 Ukrainian civilians were returned.
There are already five prisoner-of-war detention facilities operating in Ukraine, and they are constantly being replenished – so we have an “exchange fund.”
Among them are people from various countries. We remind you that there is a Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, where foreign citizens can obtain information about their relatives who may be in captivity, or negotiate in advance for their lives if they cannot avoid forced conscription into the Russian occupation army.
This is the "I Want to Live" project, which has a website , a chatbot , and phone numbers for WhatsApp and Telegram messengers:
+380 95 68 86 888
+380 93 68 86 888
+380 97 68 86 688
Our international partners are actively assisting us in the return of our citizens – we are very grateful to them for this and encourage other countries to join this process.
I repeat: We want to return every one of our citizens from captivity!
As a civilized society, human life, health and freedom are of the highest value to us.
Valery Evdokimov
Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Ukraine
in the Republic of Tajikistan
