For some Ukrainian prisoners, captivity was not simply a matter of being held behind bars. Survivors say it became a prolonged struggle to remain alive, as beatings, electric shocks, starvation, humiliation and sexual abuse were allegedly used to break them physically and psychologically.
At an informal United Nations Security Council meeting, former Ukrainian prisoners and officials described what they said were systematic abuses in Russian detention facilities. Their testimonies were accompanied by a stark warning from the UN: monitoring has documented widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees.
Russia rejected the accusations, describing them as a “disinformation campaign” and accusing Ukraine of abusing Russian prisoners as well. UN officials acknowledged that abuse of Russian and third-country prisoners held by Ukraine had also been documented, but said it occurred on a fundamentally different scale.
The accounts have placed the treatment of prisoners at the centre of renewed international scrutiny—and raised difficult questions about accountability as the war continues.
Survivors Bring the Reality of Captivity Into the Open
One of the most powerful testimonies came from Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya, a Ukrainian serviceman who said he spent 1,183 days in Russian captivity.
He described repeated beatings, electric shocks, extreme physical punishment in freezing conditions and sexual abuse. According to Garsiya, two of his friends were beaten to death while in detention in the Donetsk region.
He also described overcrowded barracks, inadequate living conditions, illness and hunger among prisoners.
His account offers a glimpse into an aspect of the war that is largely invisible to people outside the detention system.
The battlefield is visible through photographs and videos.
Captivity is different.
For prisoners, the violence can take place behind closed doors, away from cameras and independent observers.
The UN Says the Pattern Is Widespread
The allegations are not based solely on individual testimonies.
Claudia Fuentes Julio, the UN assistant secretary-general for human rights, told the meeting that UN monitoring had found continuing and widespread torture and ill-treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees by Russian authorities.
According to UN data presented at the meeting, more than 95% of Ukrainian POWs interviewed reported torture or ill-treatment.
More than half also reported sexual violence.
UN monitors documented allegations including severe beatings, electric shocks, dog attacks, mock executions and other forms of abuse.
The UN has also documented the execution of 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war at the beginning of their captivity since February 2022, while 48 others died in custody as a result of torture, denial of medical care or other inhumane detention conditions, Fuentes Julio said.
Those figures do not represent every case that may have occurred. They reflect cases documented by UN human rights monitoring.
Sexual Violence Emerges as a Particularly Disturbing Pattern
Among the most serious allegations are those involving sexual abuse.
More than half of the Ukrainian POWs interviewed by UN monitors reported some form of sexual violence, including rape, sexualised beatings and electric shocks targeting intimate parts of the body.
Such abuse can have consequences long after a prisoner is released.
Physical injuries may eventually heal.
The psychological consequences of deliberate humiliation, threats and sexual violence can remain for years.
That makes documenting these allegations important not only for understanding what happened during captivity, but also for any future efforts to provide justice and support to survivors.
A Prison System That Extends Across Borders
Ukrainian officials say the problem is not confined to one detention centre.
Oleg Gushin of Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War said Kyiv had identified more than 300 detention locations in Russia and Russian-occupied Ukrainian territory.
Ukraine says more than 9,000 Ukrainians have been returned through prisoner exchanges, while thousands remain in Russian captivity.
That makes the issue considerably larger than the experiences of a handful of former prisoners.
It raises questions about what happens to people who remain inaccessible to international monitors and whose families may have little information about their condition.
A Second Survivor Describes a “Carousel of Repression”
Crimean Tatar activist Leniie Umerova, who was released in a prisoner exchange in 2024, also described her experience at the UN meeting.
She said she was detained while travelling to visit her seriously ill father in Crimea and was subsequently moved through seven detention facilities.
Umerova described the repeated transfers as a “carousel of repression” and accused Russian authorities of using torture against Ukrainians in captivity.
Her case illustrates another dimension of detention during wartime: captivity is not necessarily limited to soldiers captured on the battlefield.
Civilians can also become caught up in the detention system, particularly in occupied territories and areas under Russian control.
Russia Rejects the Allegations
Moscow has strongly disputed the accusations.
Russia’s deputy UN representative, Maria Zabolotskaya, dismissed the allegations as part of what she called a disinformation campaign.
She also accused Russian prisoners held in Ukraine of suffering torture, degradation and physical and moral abuse.
The UN has documented abuse involving Russian and third-country prisoners held by Ukraine as well.
But Fuentes Julio said the scale was fundamentally different, noting that around half of the Russian and third-country prisoners interviewed by UN monitors reported abuse during the initial stages of captivity.
The competing accusations underline why independent monitoring and access to detention sites are so important.
Without independent access, many individual claims remain difficult to verify.
Why Access to Prisoners Matters
One of the most serious concerns raised by the testimonies is the possibility that some prisoners remain beyond the reach of independent observers.
The longer detainees remain inaccessible, the harder it becomes to establish their whereabouts, condition and treatment.
It also makes accountability more difficult.
International humanitarian law establishes protections for prisoners of war and detainees during armed conflict. Allegations of torture, sexual violence, deliberate killing and denial of medical care can potentially have serious legal consequences.
But legal accountability depends on evidence.
That means survivor testimonies, medical records, photographs, detention documents and other evidence can become crucial long after the fighting ends.
The New Perspective: Captivity Is Becoming Another Battlefield
The most important lesson from these testimonies may be that the war’s human cost cannot be measured only through battlefield deaths and destroyed buildings.
There is another battlefield hidden behind detention-centre walls.
For prisoners, the conflict can continue through isolation, uncertainty and psychological pressure even after they have been removed from combat.
And for families, captivity creates another kind of suffering.
They may not know where a loved one is being held, whether they are receiving medical treatment or even whether they are alive.
That uncertainty can last for months or years.
The Evidence Could Matter Long After the War Ends
Wars eventually move on.
Governments negotiate.
Front lines change.
Prisoners are exchanged.
But evidence of alleged abuses can remain relevant long after the fighting stops.
The testimonies presented at the UN therefore have significance beyond the immediate political dispute between Moscow and Kyiv.
They could become part of a much larger record used by investigators, courts and international organisations attempting to establish what happened to prisoners during the war.
For survivors, telling their stories can also be a way of ensuring that what happened to them is not erased.
Accountability Is the Bigger Question
Ukraine’s representatives called for stronger international pressure and accountability over the treatment of prisoners.
But accountability during an ongoing war is difficult.
Investigators need access.
Witnesses need protection.
Evidence must be preserved.
And allegations must be independently assessed against established legal standards.
That process can take years.
Still, the collection of evidence can begin now.
Every testimony recorded today could become important evidence tomorrow.
A War Measured in More Than Territory
The Russia-Ukraine conflict is often described through maps: cities captured, territory regained and front lines shifted.
But the stories emerging from detention facilities tell another story.
They show how war can continue even when prisoners are no longer carrying weapons.
They also reveal the enormous responsibility that falls on governments when people are captured or detained.
The treatment of prisoners is not a side issue in wartime.
It is a measure of whether basic rules designed to protect human beings survive even during the worst conflicts.
What Happens to Those Still in Captivity?
Perhaps the most urgent question now concerns the thousands of Ukrainians who, according to Kyiv, remain detained.
Their families are waiting for information.
Former prisoners are describing what they say happened to them.
UN officials are documenting patterns of abuse.
And governments continue accusing each other of violating international law.
But for those still behind detention-centre walls, the most important outcome is not another statement at an international meeting.
It is access, protection and a safe return home.
The accounts presented at the UN cannot by themselves determine the responsibility for every individual incident. But combined with UN documentation and other evidence, they point to a deeply serious pattern that demands continued independent investigation.
The war in Ukraine is being fought on battlefields, in cities and through long-range missiles. But for thousands of prisoners, another war is taking place behind locked doors. Their stories are now becoming part of the evidence of what this conflict has cost—and of the accountability that may follow when the guns eventually fall silent.
Leave a Reply