POWs

Kharkiv prosecutors charge two captured Russian troops with war crimes against civilians

Two Russian soldiers captured in Kharkiv Oblast in May 2026 have been charged with cruelty to civilians after holding a man captive in inhumane conditions, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on July 28.

29 July, 01:27 PM

Ukraine proposes allowing POWs make phone calls

Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets proposed during talks with his Russian counterpart, Yana Lantratova, that Ukraine and Russia allow prisoners of war to make phone calls to their families, Lubinets said on July 1.

2 July, 01:39 AM

UN records 129 executions of Ukrainian POWs by Russian forces

Invading Russian forces have executed at least 129 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) since February 2022, the UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine (HRMMU) said in a report on June 29.

29 June, 11:49 PM

June 26 POW exchange in photos

With the latest prisoner-of-war exchange between Ukraine and Russia, 160 Ukrainian servicemembers returned home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on June 26.

27 June, 02:36 AM

Ukraine and South Korea to hold talks regarding North Korean POWs

Ukrainian and South Korean foreign ministers will hold negotiations in Seoul on June 30 regarding North Korean prisoners of war who fought for Russia, Reuters wrote on June 23.

23 June, 02:01 PM

Ukrainian troops to get $2,200 bonuses for capturing enemy soldiers

Ukrainian service members will receive additional cash payments of UAH100,000 ($2,200) for each captured Russian combatant and UAH15,000 ($335) for killing an enemy soldier in small-arms combat, Deputy Defense Minister Mstyslav Banik announced on June 15.

15 June, 10:54 PM

Freed Ukrainian POWs sing national anthem after returning home in prisoner exchange

Ukraine's Security Service and other agencies released exclusive footage from a prisoner exchange that brought home 185 Ukrainian service members and one civilian on June 5.

5 June, 07:57 PM

UN, ICRC failing to protect Ukrainian POWs, ombudsman says

Russia is delaying agreements on prisoner exchanges and dragging out the process, and international organizations are not protecting Ukrainian POWs or responding adequately to torture and other rights violations, Ukraine’s ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on May 28.

28 May, 11:18 PM

Tsikhanouskaya spoke with Belarusian POWs who fought for Russia

Ukraine’s Coordination Headquarters on Prisoners of War officials met with Belarusian opposition leader Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya and her team and arranged a meeting between Tsikhanouskaya and Belarusian citizens held as prisoners who fought on Russia’s side.

27 May, 08:33 PM

Azov medic Oleksandr Krokhmalyuk tortured to death in Russian captivity, forensics confirm

Azov regiment medic Oleksandr Krokhmalyuk died as a result of torture while in Russian captivity, Azov 1st Corps Deputy Commander Sviatoslav “Kalyna” Palamar announced on Facebook on May 22.

22 May, 04:50 PM

20 Azov fighters freed in first phase of 1,000-for-1,000 POW swap

20 Azov Corps fighters, including 19 defenders of Mariupol, returned from Russian captivity on May 15 as part of the first phase of a 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange, Commander of the 1st Azov Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine Denys Prokopenko reported on Facebook.

15 May, 05:00 PM

Russia returns bodies of 375 tortured military and civilian Ukrainians

Russia has handed over the remains of 375 Ukrainian POWs and civilians bearing signs of torture, Bohdan Okhrimenko, head of the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War Secretariat, told Ukrinform on May 4.

4 May, 03:12 PM

Lubinets met with Russian ombudsman Moskalkova

Ukraine’s Human Right Commissioner Dmytro Lubinets met with Russian ombudsman Tatyana Moskalkova, Lubinets said in a Telegram post on April 13.

13 April, 09:02 PM

Ukraine secures return of 175 POWs and seven civilians in exchange with Russia

Ukraine and Russia exchanged prisoners of war with 175 Ukrainian service members returning home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said on Apr. 11.

11 April, 03:05 PM

Captured Ukrainian soldier persuades two Russians to surrender

A Ukrainian defender, mortarman Volodymyr Aleksandrov with the callsign Pozytyv, was captured by Russian forces at the end of January 2026, but the man convinced the Russians to surrender to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, the soldier told public broadcaster Suspilne Khmelnytskyi on March 11.

11 March, 01:55 PM

Ukraine imposes sanctions on Russian judges over POW sentences

Volodymyr Zelenskyy signed decrees enacting sanctions against Russian judges involved in illegal convictions of Ukrainian prisoners of war and extending restrictions against Russian companies, the Ukrainian President’s Office said on March 10.

10 March, 03:57 PM

300 POWs freed in March 6 exchange

Two Ukrainian civilians and 300 service members returned home after a prisoner exchange with Russia on March 6, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy said.

7 March, 03:36 AM

Many freed Ukrainian defenders in serious condition after captivity

Ukraine repatriated 200 soldiers from Russian captivity in the first phase of a prisoner exchange agreed in Geneva, many of them in serious psychological condition with critically low body weight, Ukraine’s Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets reported on March 5.

5 March, 06:23 PM

Ukraine secures return of 200 prisoners of war from Russia

Ukraine returned 200 soldiers from Russian captivity in the first phase of a prisoner exchange agreed during talks in Geneva, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced on X on March 5.

5 March, 05:11 PM

Lubinets: At least 337 Ukrainian POWs executed in Russian captivity

Russian forces “deliberately and brutally” executed 337 Ukrainian prisoners of war as of the end of 2025, Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets, said on March 3.

4 March, 02:47 AM

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