No liberated prisoner of war saw any  Red Cross representatives while in Russian captivity

VALENTYNA ROMANENKO – SUNDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER 2022, 16:12

The Russian occupiers keep Ukrainian prisoners of war in inhumane conditions, preventing representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross from visiting them.

Source: Ukraine’s ombudsman, Dmytro Lubinets, on air during the national joint 24/7 newscast

Details: The ombudsman, who is the human rights commissioner of the Ukrainian Parliament, confirmed that the Ukrainians who were released from Russian captivity on 21 September are undergoing rehabilitation.

Lubinets noted that the occupiers starved all the prisoners: some of the military prisoners lost 60 to 70 kilograms while in captivity.

Some of those who were released had spent over 120 days in solitary cells; they now have a new appreciation of human communication.

Quote:

"Not once during the entire time in captivity did any of the prisoners of war see a representative of the ICRC [International Committee of the Red Cross], which is a violation on the part of the Russian Federation (non-compliance with the Geneva Conventions).

We have also noted that torture, physical and psychological violence were applied to almost all of the POWs, so we will work out the legal implications of each act and our findings will serve as an element for the international criminal tribunal, which, I hope, will in due course be launched by the international legal community."

Previously: On 6 September, relatives of the defenders of Mariupol noted the powerlessness of international organisations in enforcing humanitarian law and demanded real progress in releasing Ukrainian prisoners of war held by the Russian Federation.

Background:

• On 21 September, as part of another prisoner exchange round with the Russian Federation, 215 Ukrainian soldiers were released.
• Among those released are commanders of the Azov Regiment, border guards, policemen, marines, national guardsmen, members of the Territorial Defence Forces, customs officers, civilians. Valerii Padytel, head of the Donetsk border unit, as well as officers of that detachment and one staff sergeant are among the Border Guards who were liberated.
• Viktor Medvedchuk, the former Ukrainian MP who is also widely known as a close ally of Russian President Vladimir Putin, and 55 Russian servicemen were returned to Russia.
• This is the largest exchange of prisoners of war since the beginning of the full-scale invasion of the Russian Federation on 24 February. A long process of rehabilitation, adaptation, recovery and treatment awaits the released soldiers. It was reported that the freed Ukrainians are in a shocking state - almost all 215 people have an extreme stage of malnourishment.
• More than 2000 defenders of Mariupol remain in Russian captivity.

Journalists fight on their own frontline. Become our patron, support our work!