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I lost hope and will to live, in Russian jail, says Ukraine POW

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Conditions for Ukrainians in Russian prisons are inhumane and limiting. Ukrainian prisoners of war have often been left with gangrene, broken teeth, and broken bones by Russian forces. In fact, during their unlawful and lengthy incarceration, Ukrainian prisoners of war were subjected to severe verbal abuse.

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Latest graphic findings from the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine - created by the Human Rights Council two years ago - highlight the ongoing grave impact of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine on 24 February 2022.

"I lost any hope and the will to live," one Ukrainian soldier and former prisoner of war told the Commission of Inquiry, describing how he had been "repeatedly subjected to torture and left with broken bones, broken teeth and gangrene" on an injured foot.

After trying to kill himself at a prison in the town of Donskoy in Tula region, south of Moscow, the soldier recounted how his captors "subjected him to further beating", said Erik Møse, Commission Chair.

"Victims' accounts disclose relentless, brutal treatment inflicting severe pain and suffering during prolonged detention, with blatant disregard for human dignity. This has led to long-lasting physical and mental trauma," he told journalists in Geneva.

"They beat him on his buttocks in the isolation ward, causing bleeding from his anus," the investigators reported. "In the yard, they beat him on his face and injured foot, leading to bleeding. They knocked out some of his teeth. He begged them to kill him."

Rape, beatings

Testimonies of rape and other sexual attacks against women "also amount to torture", the Commissioners maintained, pointing to threats of rape against male prisoners of war and the use of electric shocks intended to hurt or humiliate detainees.

"There were beatings, verbal abuse, electronic devices being used on areas, body parts, there was very limited access to food, water necessities,' Mr. Møse continued. "The whole treatment of the prisoners of war and the picture drawn up, emerging from the way they were dealt with - how they were treated over long periods, months - enables us to use the word 'horrific'".

Graphic testimony

The 20-page report relies on testimonies from hundreds of individuals in order to investigate all alleged violations and abuses of human rights and violations of international humanitarian law committed by Russian forces and authorities.

The publication focuses on the siege and indiscriminate bombardment of Mariupol at the outset of the invasion, the use of torture and rape against civilians, prisoners of war and alleged collaborators, the unlawful transfer of 46 children from a care facility in Kherson to Russian-occupied Crimea in October 2022 and the destruction and damage of protected cultural treasures.

"The evidence shows that Russian authorities have committed violation of international human rights and international humanitarian law and corresponding war crimes," insisted Commissioner Vrinda Grover. "Further investigations are required to determine whether some of the situations identified may constitute crimes against humanity."

Mariupol and the 'road to death'

Detailing the ordeal endured by all those besieged in the southern Ukrainian city of Mariupol, the report noted how survivors emerged from shelters and "recalled seeing large number of dead bodies on the streets in the rubble of their houses and in the cities' hospitals".

At least 58 medical centres were destroyed along with 11 power stations, the investigators said, adding that women who fled on foot from the front line called it "the road to death" and expressed a "pervasive feeling of fear".

"Often, Russian armed forces failed to take feasible precautions to verify that the affected objects are not civilian," maintained the rights experts, who work in an independent capacity and are not UN staff.

Genocidal intent concerns

Confirming continuing deep concerns about allegations of genocidal intent by the invading forces, Ms. Grover said the Human Rights Council-mandated probe would "look further" into likely "direct and public incitement to commit genocide" by Russian media.

"We have gone through a large number of such statements and have found that many of them used are using dehumanizing language and calls for hate, violence and destruction," she said. "And we are concerned with statements supporting the Russian full-scale invasion of Ukraine, calling for the killing of a large number of persons."

The report is due to be presented to the Human Rights Council on Tuesday 19 March. Watch the launch in Geneva here: https://webtv.un.org/en/schedule/2024-03-19

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I lost hope and will to live, in Russian jail, says Ukraine POW

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Fresh evidence of "horrific...widespread and systematic" abuse and likely war crimes committed by Russian forces against civilians and military detainees in Ukraine emerged on Friday, in a new report by UN-appointed independent rights investigators. |

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Many Ukrainian Prisoners of War Show Signs of Trauma and Sexual Violence

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Throughout Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Russian forces have inflicted abusive behavior on Ukrainian civilians by committing war crimes, such as sexual assault towards civilians.  This abusive behavior has caused physiological trauma within the Ukrainian community.

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Many Ukrainian Prisoners of War Show Signs of Trauma and Sexual Violence

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As they return with physical and psychological wounds stemming from torture by their Russian captors, soldiers are being sent back to active duty — often without adequate treatment.

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Kyiv asks allies for help against alleged Russian abuse of Ukrainian POWs

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Kyiv has asked Ukrainian-supporting countries for help in order to reduce the mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war at the hands of Russian soldiers. Ukrainian prisoners of war often undergo extreme torture by Russian forces, which ranges from a deprivation of basic necessities to fatal beatings.

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Kyiv asks allies for help against alleged Russian abuse of Ukrainian POWs

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Relatives of Ukrainian military members and civilian prisoners held in Russian prisons talk about horrors experienced by captives

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'Climate of fear': UN accuses Russia of abuses in occupied Ukraine

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In its first in-depth report in situation in occupied Ukraine, UN says it found evidence of intimidation, arbitrary detention and torture.

Russia says it has annexed Donetsk, Luhansk, Kherson and Zaporizhia, the four Ukrainian regions it partly occupies [File: Dmitry Astakhov/Sputnik via Reuters]

Russia has tortured and arbitrarily detained people in the parts of eastern Ukraine it occupies, creating a "climate of fear" and suppressing Ukrainian identity, according to the United Nations.

The UN's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) was denied entry to Russian-occupied Ukraine, and based its report on remote and in-person interviews with more than 2,300 witnesses and victims.

Keep reading

Since launching its full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, Moscow has seized large tracts of southern and eastern Ukraine and currently occupies just over 17 percent of the country.

In September 2022, Russian President Vladimir Putin announced the annexation of the regions of Kherson, Zaporizhia, Luhansk and Donetsk in a move rejected by Kyiv and most of the international community.

"Many people living under occupation have endured intimidation and repression, facing a constant threat of violence, detention, and punishment," the report, which was released on Wednesday, concluded.

The UN investigators said they had verified the executions of 26 civilians, including two children, on the spot, for instance during house searches, as well as the killing of a further 30 civilians during detention. Most executions were committed between March and May 2022.

It said no-one had been held accountable for the abuses, and noted Russia was actively trying to suppress Ukrainian identity as it imposed its "language, citizenship, laws, court system, and education curricula on the occupied areas".

It added that the school curriculum had also been changed to one that sought to "justify" Moscow's invasion, and access to Ukrainian media and phone networks blocked.

"The actions of the Russian Federation have ruptured the social fabric of communities and left individuals isolated, with profound and long-lasting consequences for Ukrainian society as a whole," UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk was quoted as saying.

Ukraine has accused Moscow of widespread war crimes in its occupied regions, while the International Criminal Court has issued an arrest warrant for Putin and Russia's children's commissioner over the forced deportation of Ukrainian children to Russia.

The Kremlin denies committing atrocities against civilians.

The report accused Russian forces of using torture in detention centres saying it had received "credible and reliable accounts regarding the treatment of 171 civilian detainees and found that 90% of them had been tortured or ill-treated".

It accused soldiers, police and prison authorities of using violence including kicking, waterboarding, and electric shocks and subjecting some 48 civilian detainees, including a child, to conflict-related sexual violence. It also documented 16 cases of sexual violence by Russian armed forces on civilians outside of detention, almost all of them against women.

Arbitrary detention and forced disappearances have also been widespread under Russian occupation, the report found.

In total, it documented 687 cases of arbitrary detention until December 2023: 587 men, 92 women, seven boys and one girl.

Local residents were also pressured into getting Russian passports, which were linked to access to social benefits and healthcare, and the Russians used intimidation and violence to get civil servants in fields such as law enforcement and education to work for them.

However, the report also criticised the wording of Ukraine's law punishing collaboration with occupying forces as "vague and imprecise."

"The Ukrainian law on collaboration also risks criminalizing conduct which the Occupying Power can lawfully compel individuals to carry out ... and which might be essential for or benefit the normal life of the population of the occupied territory," the report noted.

Source: Al Jazeera and news agencies

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'Climate of fear': UN accuses Russia of abuses in occupied Ukraine

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In its first in-depth report in situation in occupied Ukraine, UN says it found evidence of intimidation and torture.

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USCRI Update: The Humanitarian Situation in Ukraine March 2024

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"The war in Ukraine continues to inflict immeasurable human suffering, deaths and destruction, putting millions at risk of serious violations and generating grave humanitarian needs." - UN OCHA

February 24, 2024, marked two years of war in Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022. Two years of Russia's war in Ukraine have devastated the civilian population. Violence, destruction, and violations of international law continue to create dire conditions for civilians living in Ukraine and fuel widespread displacement both in and outside of the country.

The following is an update as of March 2024 on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

Mass Displacement

In January 2024, the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) verified 29,731 civilian casualties in Ukraine from February 24, 2022, to January 21, 2024. This figure represents 10,287 civilians killed and 19,444 injured, with actual figures likely far higher. OHCHR's Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) verified that at least 641 civilians were killed or injured in Ukraine in January 2024 alone.

Indiscriminate attacks and bombardments continue across Ukraine, resulting in the forced displacement of civilians. On February 15, a series of missile attacks in Kyiv, Dnipro, Zaporizhzhia, and Lviv resulted in civilian casualties. On February 12, 2024, The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported " more than 47,000 incidents involving armed clashes, airstrikes and other attacks " took place throughout Ukraine in 2023, representing an increase of over 12,000 from 2022. Attacks on schools, hospitals, energy facilities, and other civilian infrastructure severely limited access to essential services and resources. As of February 9, 2024, the Donetska and Kharkivska oblasts were recorded as the top two oblasts for the greatest number of attacks in 2023 (Donetska 20,658, Kharkivska 6,815) and highest percentage of educational institutions destroyed or damaged in 2023 (Donetska 83%, Kharkivska 54%). Both oblasts are frontline communities, which continue to bear the gravest impacts of the war.

In 2024, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that displacement in Ukraine is expected to become protracted as the third year of war begins. The situation in the eastern and southern parts of Ukraine are particularly volatile as shelling and attacks on civilian infrastructure are a daily occurrence. Millions of people remain displaced by the war both within Ukraine and in the region. An estimated 3.7 million people are currently internally displaced in Ukraine and 5.9 million refugees and asylum-seekers are spread across the European region. Women (47%) and children (33%) make up over 80% of the Ukrainian refugee population. In 2024, 14.6 million people in Ukraine will need humanitarian assistance, including populations experiencing multiple vulnerabilities, such as people with disabilities, the elderly, and children. On February 21, 2024, the UN Resident Coordinator in Ukraine Denise Brown reported that the UN's humanitarian appeal for Ukraine is only 10 percent funded for 2024.

Ukraine's Children

After two years of war, children displaced both within and outside of Ukraine continue to suffer. In March 2022, the child displacement rate in Ukraine was reported to be one of the largest and fastest displacements of children since World War II. When children are displaced, they face heightened risk and threats to their protection. Children both in and fleeing Ukraine have been killed and injured, separated from their families, had their education disrupted, and childhoods ripped apart.

In his 2023 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict, UN Secretary-General António Guterres listed Russian armed forces and affiliated armed groups in his annexes of parties that commit grave violations against children in war. This marked the first time a Permanent Member of the UN Security Council was listed in the annexes for grave violations against children. In this report, the UN verified 2,334 violations against children in Ukraine in 2022, including the killing and maiming of 1,386 children, 751 attacks on schools and hospitals, and the abduction of 92 children. Actual figures are likely higher and violations from 2023 will be included in the next report.

Notably, in March 2023, International Criminal Court (ICC) judges issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Russia's children's rights commissioner Maria Lvova-Belova for the unlawful deportation and transfer of children from occupied areas of Ukraine to Russia.

In 2024, the situation for children in Ukraine remains critical, particularly in frontline areas, where the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) highlighted a humanitarian situation that is "becoming increasingly difficult and scores of children are continuing to pay the price for violence." Just four days before the two-year anniversary, UNICEF Ukraine reported that schools and preschools were damaged in recent attacks on areas in the Kherson and Kharkiv regions. On March 2, 2024, five children - majority under the age of three - were killed alongside seven adults when a drone or its remnants hit a residential building in Odesa.

International Protection

The international community's response to those displaced by the war in Ukraine was swift, showing its capacity to meet humanity's needs. In September 2023, the European Union (EU) extended the application of its Temporary Protective Directive (TPD) until March 2025, offering protection status for Ukrainians who found safety in the EU. In August 2023, the Biden administration announced an extension and redesignation of Temporary Protected Status ( TPS) for Ukraine for 18-months, providing work authorization and protection from removal for eligible Ukrainian nationals in the United States.

As tens of thousands of Ukrainians arrived in the United States after Russia's invasion, in April 2022 the Biden administration also announced the Uniting for Ukraine (U4U) program, providing Ukrainians who are approved for travel authorization under U4U two years of humanitarian parole for entry and admission into the United States.

On February 27, 2024, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released details on a re-parole process for Ukrainian citizens and their immediate family members in the United States. Ukrainians and their family members paroled into the United States on or after February 11, 2022, can be eligible to apply for up to two years of parole through affirmatively filing a Form I-131, Application for Travel Document.

Click here to download this USCRI Update.
USCRI, founded in 1911, is a non-governmental, not-for-profit international organization committed to working on behalf of refugees and immigrants and their transition to a dignified life.
For inquiries, please contact: [email protected]

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USCRI Update: The Humanitarian Situation in Ukraine March 2024

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Learn about the humanitarian situation in Ukraine March 2024. Also, February 24, 2024, marked two years of war in Ukraine following Russia's full-scale invasion of the country in February 2022.