Abducted Ukrainain mayor of town in Zaporizhzhia Oblast dies in Russian captivity
Russian forces captured the mayor of Dniprorudne in late February 2022, leading to his eventual death in captivity.
Browsing Tag
Russian captivity
23 posts
Former British soldier fighting for Ukraine captured by Russia in Kursk
A 22-year-old former British Army signalman has been captured by Russian forces while fighting for Ukraine's International Legion in the Kursk Oblast.
95 Ukrainian defenders return from Russian captivity, including Azov fighters and POWs facing life sentences
Among those released was Maksym Butkevych, a Ukrainian human rights activist and serviceman, who was captured near Luhansk in 2022 and sentenced to 13 years in Russia. The exchange also saw the return of Vladyslav Andrianov, an Azov fighter who survived the Olenivka prison massacre and faced a 25-year sentence in Russia.
“Real nature of Kremlin regime:” EU condemns Russian glorification of increasing Ukrainian POW executions
Recent incidents of large-scale killings of unarmed Ukrainian soldiers expose what the EU describes as "the real nature of the regime in the Kremlin."
Ukrainian journalist Viktoria Roshchyna confirmed dead in Russian captivity
Roshchyna, a journalist working with RFE/RL, went missing in August 2023 while traveling to occupied territories and was slated for a prisoner exchange.
Mariupol Defender reclaims voice and spirit after 2.5 years in Russian captivity
Ukrainian Marine Yura Hulchuk captured hearts nationwide after his release from Russian captivity, arriving home unable to speak or respond emotionally to his mother’s tearful embrace. Now, Yura has finally broken his silence and is making significant progress in his recovery.
“I broke everyone and will do the same to you”: Russian authorities torture Ukrainians with a sense of impunity
A UN commission has found that Russian forces are systematically using sexual violence as a form of torture against Ukrainian prisoners. The report highlights a disturbing pattern of abuse, with male detainees particularly targeted in custody, while women in Russian-controlled villages face heightened risk of rape.
Ukraine returns 115 prisoners of war on Independence Day, first exchange after Kursk incursion
This POWs exchange includes 82 defenders of Mariupol, captured in the early months of the full-scale invasion. President Zelenskyy thanked military units for replenishing Ukraine's "exchange fund," enabling the return of 115 defenders.
Scars of war: Ukrainian servicewoman survives Russian captivity, returns to fight
Four months in a cramped Russian cell couldn't break Yulia's spirit. Now, the Ukrainian soldier prepares to rejoin the fight, leaving behind a daughter who fears losing her mother again.
Starvation, beatings, nails ripped out: Russia systematically tortures Ukrainian POWs till death
Death certificates of Ukrainian defenders whose bodies were returned from Russian captivity usually state tuberculosis or heart attack as a cause of death; however, their bodies show visible signs of torture and starvation, and witness accounts of cellmates who survived Russian captivity prove inhumane treatment and humiliation.
Ukraine returns 90 more prisoners of war from Russian captivity, including defenders of Mariupol
Among the released Ukrainian servicemen are 59 defenders of Mariupol, particularly from Azovstal, and five National Guardsmen of the Chornobyl nuclear power plant.
“One cup of water per day for 8 people”: Deaths of Ukrainian POWs in Russian captivity rise, human rights group says
The Ukrainian Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) verified 22 deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and emphasised that the defenders of Mariupol are treated with extreme cruelty, with approximately 1,300 servicemen from the 36th Separate Marine Brigade still being held in Russian captivity.
Ukraine secures release of 75 POWs from Russian captivity
In a major prisoner swap, 75 Ukrainian soldiers and civilians return home.
Some 403 Ukrainian women in Russian captivity, including civilians
Russia continues to defy international law by holding 403 Ukrainian women captive, many of them civilians, in deplorable conditions.
Russia detains over 100 Ukrainian civilians without charges, human rights advocate reports
These individuals are kept incommunicado, with no legal charges, inaccessible to lawyers, and often transferred between locations, with some even moved to Russia.
Ombudsman: Russians trying to use relatives of Ukrainian POWs against Ukraine
The Ukrainian Ombudsman says Russia systematically tells Ukrainian POW families that Ukraine blocks returns, demanding relatives hold protests and provide infrastructure photos to Russia.
“I chewed that mouse between my teeth”: Ukrainian POW details torture, starvation in Russian camp
Starved nearly to death in Russian custody, Ukrainian soldier Oleksiy Anulia resorted to eating worms and mice to survive sadistic torture, revealing the scale of abuse in harrowing detail.
Ministry data: 4,337 Ukrainians remain in Russian captivity
Ukraine's official data lists 3,574 Ukrainian military personnel and 763 civilians among those currently held in Russian captivity.
Ukraine, OSCE to coordinate on returning deported Ukrainian children, civilians from Russian captivity
Ukraine's FM Dmytro Kuleba discussed the issue of returning deported and imprisoned Ukrainians during a meeting with Bujar Osmani, the chairman-in-office of the OSCE in Ukraine's capital on 16 October.
Female Ukrainian judge jailed, shocked, threatened with firing squad in Russian captivity
When Russian troops invaded Mariupol, Yuliya Matveieva, a judge from the Illichivsk District Court of Mariupol, was ordered…