[Korrespondent] Further evidence of Russia's responsibility for these crimes is that it refused to cooperate with the OSCE mission of independent experts.
In their report, OSCE experts stated that Russia had committed widespread and systematic torture and cruel treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war, leading to the deaths of at least 169 people.
The Ukrainian Foreign Ministry notes that Russia's refusal to cooperate with the OSCE mission of independent experts is additional evidence of Russia's responsibility for these crimes.
The mission found in its report that the Russian Federation's treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war is widespread and systemic, accompanied by consistent and deliberate actions directed against Ukrainian defenders, and may constitute a war crime, "unlawful treatment of prisoners of war," and a crime against humanity, "imprisonment or other severe deprivation of physical liberty in violation of fundamental norms of international law."
The mission also found numerous gross violations of international humanitarian law and human rights:
- widespread and systematic use of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment, including sexual violence;
- arbitrary executions and killings of Ukrainian prisoners of war, including after their surrender;
- deliberate failure to provide adequate food, medical care and basic living conditions, resulting in deaths in custody;
- the use of prisoners of war for propaganda, coercion into collaboration and so-called "trials" in violation of the Third Geneva Convention.
As the OSCE report notes, the mission faced significant difficulties due to a lack of transparency and uncooperative behavior on the part of Russia. Ukrainian prisoners of war are held in numerous locations in Russia and in temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which remain largely inaccessible.
Despite these restrictions, it is estimated that at least 13,500 Ukrainian Armed Forces personnel have been detained since February 2022. Of these, approximately 169 died in captivity, nearly 6,800 were released and repatriated, and approximately 6,300 remain in custody.
The OSCE mission also reportedly identified violations during the release and repatriation of prisoners of war. Russia initially failed to prioritize seriously ill or wounded prisoners of war and failed to establish joint medical commissions for their release. The transfer of prisoners of war often occurs in dangerous, inhumane conditions, sometimes resulting in injury or death, including during air or ground transport.
"A particularly egregious case is the Olenivske penal colony, where systemic abuses occurred, including overcrowding, torture, inadequate food and medical care, and forced labor. In July 2022, an explosion in the barracks killed 53 Ukrainian prisoners of war and injured over 100, primarily from the Azov Battalion. Survivor accounts point to Russia's responsibility for these incidents, reflecting a pattern of neglect and deliberate endangerment of prisoners of war," the report states.
The Ukrainian Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that the Report's findings could be used within the framework of national and international mechanisms for holding war criminals of the aggressor state accountable.
Ukraine calls on the international community to actively disseminate and utilize the Mission's findings, as well as to further consolidate efforts to end the Russian Federation's criminal practices against Ukrainian prisoners of war and ensure their immediate exchange on an "all for all" basis.
Let us recall that the Russians shot two captured soldiers in the Pokrovsky direction.