Russian authorities and military forces have systematically tortured and ill-treated Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) – abuses that amount to war crimes.
Russia is holding thousands of Ukrainian POWs in atrocious conditions, deprived of adequate food, medical care, and basic hygiene. Evidence indicates that physical and psychological torture is a widespread pattern intended to break prisoners’ sense of self and human dignity.
Between July and October 2025, Human Rights Watch interviewed 12 former POWs captured in Donetska and Luhanska regions of Ukraine between March and July 2022.
>> Read the report: ‘Mock executions, electric shocks, and relentless beatings’
Former POWs reported abuse in multiple detention sites in Russia and Russian-occupied areas of Ukraine, describing severe beatings, stress positions, sleep deprivation, mock executions, administration of electric shocks, and attacks by dogs.
They said they experienced torture from the moment of their capture throughout their time in detention.
Russian forces routinely fail to treat captured Ukrainian military as POWs or recognize their protected status under the laws of war. Russian officials often try to justify this by false claiming the conflict in Ukraine is a “special military operation,” not a war.
But torture of any kind against detainees—POW, civilian, or otherwise—is strictly prohibited under international law and may constitute a crime against humanity.
Peace efforts and negotiations around Russia’s war in Ukraine are ongoing. But as terms are weighed, amnesty for war crimes, crimes against the humanity, and other atrocity crimes should be off the table.
