Kenneth Glad
Allegations of torture, starvation and summary executions are intensifying scrutiny of how prisoners of war are being treated in the conflict.
Four years into Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine, allegations of abuse against captured Ukrainian soldiers continue to surface.
Investigations, survivor testimony and monitoring reports, according to Polish media outlet WP Wiadomosci, describe a pattern that Ukrainian officials say reflects disregard for the laws governing prisoners of war.
In October 2024, the Washington-based Institute for the Study of War (ISW) said it was tracking what it described as a pattern of executions and abuse across the front.
“ISW continues to monitor video footage and reports of executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian soldiers and observes a broader trend of Russian abuses against Ukrainian prisoners of war across the front, which appear to be tolerated, if not entirely condoned, by individual Russian commanders,” the study said.
ISW cited figures released by Ukrainian authorities, including data from the Office of the Prosecutor General, indicating evidence of at least 93 executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war. According to those figures, most documented cases occurred in 2024.
Deepstate, a Ukrainian open-source mapping and monitoring project referenced by Ukrainska Pravda, reported separately that nine Ukrainian prisoners were executed in Russia’s Kursk region after surrendering due to lack of ammunition.
Ukraine’s Human Rights Ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, called the incident a “gross violation” of the Geneva Convention and said he had notified the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross. Ukrainian prosecutors opened an investigation.
Russia has repeatedly denied systemic abuse of prisoners, dismissing such accusations as politically motivated.
Conditions inside detention
Beyond battlefield killings, WP Wiadomosci has published investigations based on interviews with released Ukrainian soldiers describing what they experienced in custody.
In features published in 2024 and 2026, the outlet has documented accounts of prolonged hunger, beatings during interrogations and limited access to medical care across multiple detention facilities, including penal colonies inside Russia and improvised sites in occupied territories.
One former prisoner, identified as Vlad, described starvation as more constant than physical pain. He said the hunger “kills you slowly.”
Medical staff at a Ukrainian rehabilitation center cited in the reporting described widespread weight loss, muscle atrophy and complications linked to long-term malnutrition among returnees.
In its February 2026 coverage, Wiadomości characterized the pattern described by former detainees as deliberate degradation rather than incidental hardship.
Individual cases cited
The Polish outlet documented that Andriy Pereverziev, captured while wounded on the first day of the invasion, returned to Ukraine during a May 2025 prisoner exchange negotiated in Istanbul. Ukrainian officials said the words “Glory to Russia” had been carved into his body in captivity.
It also described the case of Mariupol defender Vladislav Drozdov, who returned in June 2025 after three years in detention. The reporting said he had lost nearly 40 kilograms and had gone extended periods without medical treatment despite serious injuries.
In another example, WP Wiadomosci detailed the detention of Maksym Butkevych, a former journalist and human rights activist. The outlet wrote that he was held in solitary confinement and later transferred to a penal colony after what it described as a sham trial.
Oversight and enforcement
Russia is a signatory to the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which prohibit torture, humiliating treatment and execution of prisoners of war. Under those treaties, the International Committee of the Red Cross is mandated to seek access to POWs, monitor detention conditions and facilitate communication with families. Its findings are typically shared confidentially with detaining authorities.
Former Ukrainian prisoners said Red Cross representatives did not reach all the sections where they were held.
Allegations of prisoner abuse have surfaced in other conflicts in recent decades, including in the Balkans, Iraq and Syria, where monitoring bodies documented violations but enforcement proved uneven.
Under international criminal law, senior officials can in principle be held responsible if they knew about crimes committed by subordinates and failed to act. In practice, enforcement is limited by politics. Russia’s position as a permanent member of the UN Security Council gives it veto power over binding measures.
According to Ukrainian authorities, nearly 60 prisoner exchanges have taken place since 2022, resulting in 3,767 Ukrainians returning home. Thousands are believed to remain in Russian custody. Investigations into alleged executions and detention abuse are ongoing.
Sources: WP Wiadomosci, Ukrainska Pravda, Institute for the Study of War (ISW)
