POWs
Russia has opened criminal cases against 1,500 Ukrainian prisoners of war, rights group head says
International organisations, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, do not have regular access to places of detention, so no one can check regularly on conditions or whether prisoners’ rights are respected
Ukraine’s National Preventive Mechanism flags legal gaps in POW camp governance despite satisfactory conditions
Russian prisoners of war held in Ukraine are fed three times a day, sleep in heated rooms and can buy goods at in-camp shops. Yet the facilities holding them lack any dedicated legal rulebook, and at least one camp has been recording excessive working hours with no proper oversight, Ukraine's National Preventive Mechanism reported
Military Ombudsman’s Office of Ukraine proposes counting one day in captivity as three days of service
The draft law was sent to the parliamentary Committee on National Security, Defence and Intelligence. The institution's team is urging Ukrainian MPs to support the proposal
Russian forces widely use sexual violence and torture against detainees, UN reports
OHCHR stated that the patterns observed indicate that sexual violence has been used as a method of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment against prisoners of war (POWs) and civilians
Torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war in Mordovia: Number of victims in Russian medic’s case increases
In total, almost 200 Ukrainian prisoners of war could have passed through the colony in Mordovia
Ukrainian ombudsman details talks with Russian counterpart on POW conditions and letter exchanges
The two sides discussed establishing a monitoring mission involving foreign ombudsmen to assess the conditions of civilian captives. A separate part of the talks focused on the mutual return of elderly citizens to the territory of both countries
Russian forces executed a captured Ukrainian soldier in the Donetsk region
Ukrainian authorities have launched an investigation into the fatal shooting of a captured Ukrainian soldier by Russian forces in the Volnovakha District
“Reaching an agreement with the US on what we disagree on”: What the campaign against ICC means for Ukraine
In this column, Kateryna Rashevska, expert at the Regional Centre for Human Rights, explains what consequences this decision will have for the U.S., the ICC and Ukraine
“War is when your sister dies of her wounds in your arms while Russians torture your son for ten months”: how a mother searched for missing Ivan Zabavskyi in Russia
Ivan Zabavskyi, a resident of Tavilzhanka in the Kharkiv Oblast, was subjected to such a Russian sham trial. He was abducted while travelling to pick up his mother from occupied territory and was subsequently held in basements, where he was tortured and forced to sign a "confession" to a crime he had not committed
Nearly 700 methods of torture are used against Ukrainian civilian captives and prisoners of war in Russian prisons – Ombudsman’s Office
According to Dmytro Lubinets, prisoners are strangled, set upon by dogs, tortured with electroshock devices and forced to stand motionless for up to 18 hours, with beatings used as punishment if they attempt to sit down
About 7,000 prisoners of war and up to 20,000 civilians are currently in Russian captivity – deputy speaker of the Verkhovna Rada
Kondratiuk stressed that gathering evidence to hold perpetrators accountable remains critically important, particularly amid what she described as insufficient sanctions pressure on Russia
Russian authorities hold former ATO veteran Pavlo Zaporozhets in penal colony in Omsk
Lidiia told that she passed Pavlo a Russian–French dictionary in 2023, when he was held in a pre-trial detention centre in Rostov. He started learning French then. At Vladimir Central prison, where he was later held, the staff of the custodial setting forbade him from using the dictionary
In Kharkiv region, Russians shot four Ukrainian prisoners of war and in Zaporizhzhia Oblast – they killed an evacuation group
DeepState notes that the attack occurred despite statements about a so-called "Easter ceasefire." Other details regarding the number of dead and the circumstances of the events are being clarified
Ukraine has imposed sanctions against Russian judges who passed illegal sentences on Ukrainian prisoners of war — full list
According to the Geneva Conventions, POWs cannot be prosecuted for their participation in military operations. However, the Russian Federation disregards these norms and puts Ukrainian soldiers on trial, for instance, for their participation in the operation in the Kursk region
Zelenskyy joins Muslim soldiers for Ramadan Iftar
The Head of State thanked all the defenders present, their brothers- and sisters-in-arms, for defending Ukraine and Ukrainians, strengthening our country, and being part of the shared strength of an independent Ukraine
Moscow pressures families of Ukrainian POWs to register blocked Starlink terminals
The Coordination Headquarters called on Ukrainians to contact them and law enforcement agencies if they receive offers or threats to register terminals in their name
From Nairobi to the Donbas: Nearly 300 deceived Kenyans trapped on Russian front lines
Wellington Nyongesa, intake editor at Standard Group PLC, stated at the Third International Conference Crimea Global that nearly 300 young Kenyan men are trapped on the Russian front lines in Ukraine, lured by false promises of jobs in supermarkets, logistics, and construction
Russians shoot three Ukrainian soldiers near Huliaipole, in the Zaporizhzhia Oblast — DeepState
The event took place on December 20, 2025. Soldiers of one of the mechanized brigades were supposed to occupy positions that had previously been abandoned without authorization by another unit, but the enemy was already waiting for them there
Columns
Fighting a ‘holy war’: Why a sacralised war resists Western strategy
“Reaching an agreement with the US on what we disagree on”: What the campaign against ICC means for Ukraine
ICC must remain free from political pressure to bring justice to victims of world’s gravest crimes
Only 5% of those responsible for deporting Ukrainian children face global sanctions
