Every freed prisoner is a victory worth celebrating. Every prisoner exchange that gets mistaken for a peace breakthrough is a victory for Putin's playbook.
While Ukraine grants UN monitors full access to its POW facilities, Russian detention centers remain completely closed to outside observers. The condition of returning Ukrainian prisoners—marked by visible signs of torture and neglect—underscores mounting allegations of war crimes.
Ukraine's intelligence service reports unprecedented success in prisoner exchanges with Russia, securing the release of 356 more captives than in 2023 while expanding support programs for returned citizens.
Russian forces have executed five more Ukrainian prisoners of war, bringing the 2024 toll to nearly double that of the previous two years combined, Ukraine's human rights commissioner reports.
The Office of the Prosecutor General reports a monthly increase in executed prisoners, with October and November accounting for a third of 2024's documented cases.
Pro-Kremlin media claims Russia returned the remains of 62 Ukrainian POWs allegedly aboard the Il-76 military transport plane that crashed in Belgorod in January.
Ukrainian forces in Donetsk Oblast capture an Egyptian IT student who, after receiving a Russian passport, Russia conscripted and deployed to the front.
Kyiv expands psychological warfare campaign targeting Pyongyang troops with surrender messages, as Seoul enhances intelligence cooperation with Ukrainian forces.
A new UN report reveals Russian authorities implemented systematic torture as state policy in detention facilities holding Ukrainian civilians and POWs.
Despite approximately 3,600 POWs and deported citizens being exchanged and returned, thousands still remain unaccounted for, with fears that the true death toll could be significantly higher due to the lack of international oversight.
Officials report that 80% of executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian troops occurred in 2024, marking an alarming escalation in violations of war laws.