Out of more than 5,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war repatriated to Ukraine, at least 206 died in captivity. More than 50 of them died as a result of an explosion in a prison barrack in Olenivka, controlled by Russia, writes Associated Press. Another 245 Ukrainian prisoners of war, according to the Ukrainian prosecutor's office, were killed by Russian soldiers on the battlefield after they had already surrendered.
The number of deceased prisoners of war is expected to rise as bodies are returned and identified, but forensic experts face significant difficulties in determining the causes of death.
In some cases, internal organs are missing. In other cases, it seems that bruises or injuries were concealed or removed. Ukrainian officials believe that the mutilated bodies are an attempt by Russia to hide the true causes of death. Another obstacle, according to officials, is extreme decomposition.
"They keep the bodies until they reach a state where nothing can be determined," said Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson for the Ukrainian government agency responsible for prisoner of war issues.
AP surveyed relatives of 21 Ukrainian prisoners of war who died in captivity. Autopsies conducted in Ukraine showed that five of these prisoners died from heart failure, including soldiers aged 22, 39, and 43. Another four died from tuberculosis or pneumonia, and three from infection, asphyxiation, and blunt head trauma.
The agency detailed the story of Mariupol defender Sergey Grigoryev, who was captured and tortured to death. A fellow prisoner in the same cell recounted witnessing Grigoryev being subjected to the same harsh punishments as all other prisoners in the Kamensk-Shakhtinsky correctional colony in southwestern Russia for several months. "They beat everyone — without exception," he told the agency.
Grigoryev's death certificate stated that he died from a stroke, but an autopsy conducted in Ukraine showed that he bled to death after blunt abdominal trauma, which damaged his spleen.
A 2024 UN report states that 95% of released Ukrainian prisoners of war were subjected to "systematic" torture. Prisoners reported beatings, electric shocks, suffocation, sexual violence, prolonged stress positions, mock executions, and sleep deprivation.
Earlier this year, Amnesty International* documented widespread torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Russia. The report particularly highlights Russia's secrecy regarding the whereabouts and condition of prisoners of war: it refuses to grant human rights groups or medical workers access to its prisons, leaving families in the dark about their loved ones for months and years.
* Recognized in Russia as an "undesirable organization".
Photo: AP