Over 200 Ukrainian soldiers died in Russian captivity

Of the more than 5000 prisoners of war returned to Ukraine by Russia, at least 206 died in captivity.

This is reported by the Associated Press, citing data from the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Violence in Russian prisons is likely a contributing factor to the high number of deaths of Ukrainian prisoners of war, according to human rights groups, the United Nations, the Ukrainian government and a Ukrainian forensic expert who conducted autopsies on the bodies of the prisoners.

Of the 206 Ukrainian military personnel who died in captivity, more than 50 died during a Russian missile strike on the colony in Olenivka in the summer of 2022

On the night of July 29, 2022, explosions were heard in a prison in the occupied city of Olenivka, Donetsk region, where the Russians were holding Ukrainian prisoners of war from Azovstal. The Russians said that the Armed Forces of Ukraine had struck with HIMARS. However, the General Staff of Ukraine said that the pre-trial detention center was shelled by the Russians themselves in order to accuse Ukraine of “war crimes” and to cover up the torture of prisoners and executions. At least 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war were killed and 130 were injured in the shelling. Previously, the Russians had struck with thermobaric weapons.
In October 2023, the UN determined the trajectory of the munition that hit the colony in Olenivka — it was moving from east to west. In July of this year, the UN admitted that the explosions were not caused by HIMARS missiles.

. And 245 Ukrainian military personnel were killed by the Russians immediately after being captured, according to the Prosecutor Generalʼs Office.

The AP interviewed relatives of 21 Ukrainian prisoners of war who died in captivity. Autopsies conducted in Ukraine showed that five of them died of heart failure, including soldiers aged 22, 39 and 43. Four others died of tuberculosis or pneumonia, and one each of infection, asphyxiation and blunt force trauma to the head.

One prisoner was tortured with electric shocks. He was beaten just days before he died of heart failure and extreme exhaustion, according to a forensic report reviewed by journalists. Other autopsies showed signs of gangrene or untreated infections on the bodies of the prisoners.

The death toll is expected to rise as bodies are returned and identified. In some cases, determining the cause of death is extremely difficult, as returned soldiers are sometimes missing internal organs and in some cases bruises and injuries are hidden. The poor condition of the returned bodies also makes it difficult to understand whether the prisoners suffered torture, starvation and poor medical care before they died, Ukrainian officials say.

“They [the Russians] are holding the bodies until they reach a state where nothing can be determined,” said Petro Yatsenko, a representative of the Ukrainian Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.

Moscow has previously accused Kyiv of abusing Russian prisoners of war. The UN has confirmed that there have been cases of violence in Ukrainian captivity, but has noted that the violations by Ukraine are far less widespread and serious than those accused of Russia. The international community, Ukrainian officials and Western journalists documenting Russian war crimes have repeatedly stressed that the torture of Ukrainian prisoners is a systemic practice of the Russian Federation, which is approved at the highest level.

According to the UN, more than 95% of Ukrainian servicemen released from Russian captivity were subjected to torture or the consequences of other violations of International Humanitarian Law and the Geneva Conventions.

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