May 27 — As for now, around 7,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and 10,000-20,000 civilians are in Russian captivity. Russians tortured 95% of them, said Olena Kodratiuk, the Deputy Chair of the Ukrainian Parliament.

According to Kondratiuk, Russia systematically uses torture and refuses to provide medical care to Ukrainian prisoners of war, which constitutes a violation of the Geneva Conventions and a war crime.

She said that Ukraine managed to return over 9,000 people, including 400 civilians, from the Russian captivity during the full-scale invasion of Russia.

“Russia returns captives in extremely poor condition, with signs of torture, without proper medical care, often with health consequences, and this is part of their deliberate policy,” said Kondratiuk.

Kondratiuk noted that recently, Russia returned 375 bodies with signs of torture to Ukraine. 

She said that there were bodies with wounds left to fester. Ukraine also recorded cases of amputations and pulled teeth done without anesthesia. They know about removing tourniquets from the wounded after the airstrike on Olenivka (On July 2022, Russians attacked Volnovakha correctional colony in the Olenivka village, killing 53 and injuring 130 Ukrainian POWs — ed.).

“The deliberate denial of medical care is another weapon for Russia,” said Kondratiuk.

According to her, for the first time, Ukraine is conducting the study of Russian war crimes documents medical crimes committed against Ukrainian POWs, and it should serve as a crucial evidence base for international criminal prosecution of Russia.

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