Currently, Russia incarcerates 3,392 Ukrainian prisoners of war, Olena Verbytska, President's Commissioner for the Protection of the Rights of Defenders of Ukraine claimed in her interview with RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland.
Approximately 15,000 Ukrainian troops and civilians are missing, according to Verbytska.
"Unfortunately, we do not know what happened to around 15,000 Ukrainian citizens who are now missing. Russia may also hold them captive or may have forcibly deported them to Russia from the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine. Some of them may have been killed. This uncertainty is extremely hard to deal with for relatives," Verbytska said.
Furthermore, Russia systematically violates the Geneva Convention and does not allow the International Committee of the Red Cross to get access to Ukrainian prisoners of war and check on the conditions of their incarceration, according to Verbytska.
Related:
- Russia may be preparing to forcibly mobilize Ukrainian POWs to fight for Russia - ISW
- Ukraine wrote a Geneva-compliant "surrendering guide" for Russian and Belarusian invaders
- Surrender hotline for Russian soldiers in Ukraine getting up to 100 inquiries a day - Ukrainian officials
- 50 Ukrainian POWs return home from Russian captivity
- Ukraine returns home 60 POWs, including 14 Azovstal defenders
- Russia arranges fake prisoner exchanges for Ukrainian POWs - Ombudsman
- As newly mobilized arrive in Ukraine, more Russians want to find out how to surrender
