Ukrainian POWs

Ukraine charges Russian judges with war crimes over POW sentences

Ukraine’s Security Service (SBU) has collected evidence and officially charged two Russian military judges in absentia with war crimes for sentencing two captured Ukrainian soldiers to 18 years in a maximum-security penal colony.

4 June 2025, 02:25 PM

Survivor recounts torture and death of POWs in Russian jail, says no one avoided beatings

Russia has been systematically torturing and abusing Ukrainian prisoners of war, resulting in the deaths of at least 206 service members, the Associated Press reported on May 27 after speaking with the family of a Ukrainian soldier who died in Russian captivity.

27 May 2025, 02:46 PM

Third phase of 1,000-for-1,000 swap: Ukraine welcomes back freed defenders

On May 25, Ukraine brought home 303 service members in the third phase of a prisoner exchange with the aggressor state Russia. NV published photos from the swap.

25 May 2025, 06:21 PM

Families reunite with defenders in NV photo report

On May 24, in the second stage of a prisoner exchange with Russia, Ukraine brought home 307 prisoners of war. NV publishes a photo report capturing emotional reunions between freed Ukrainian defenders and their loved ones.

24 May 2025, 09:07 PM

Ukraine frees 390 people in prisoner exchange with Russia — Zelenskyy

390 Ukrainians returned home from Russian captivity on May 23, marking the first stage of what President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called a “1,000-for-1,000” prisoner swap, which is expected to continue through the weekend. Zelenskyy announced the news in a post on Telegram.

23 May 2025, 05:54 PM

Large-scale prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia will take several days — NV source

A major prisoner swap between Ukraine and aggressor state Russia will take place over several days, a source told NV.

23 May 2025, 04:39 PM

Trump trades facts for fantasy in premature Ukraine-Russia POW swap claim

The prisoner exchange between Ukraine and Russia — which U.S. President Donald Trump claimed had already taken place — had not been completed as of 1:40 p.m. local time on May 23, sources told NV.

23 May 2025, 02:25 PM

Lists of Ukrainian POWs handed to Pope Leo XIV — Coordination Center

Newly elected Pope Leo XIV has received lists of Ukrainian soldiers held in Russian captivity, Ukraine’s Coordination Center for Prisoner of War Affairs announced on Telegram on May 15.

15 May 2025, 06:44 PM

277 Ukrainian soldiers return home after Russian captivity — NV photo report

On April 19, a prisoner exchange brought home 277 Ukrainian defenders who had been held in Russian captivity.

19 April 2025, 09:17 PM

Families of Ukrainian POWs alerted to fraud scheme demanding money for parcel delivery

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets warned families of prisoners of war about a scam involving fraudsters posing as international humanitarian mission workers and demanding money for supposed parcel deliveries to POWs, in a post on Telegram on Feb. 7.

7 February 2025, 01:18 PM

UN confirms 79 executions of Ukrainian POWs

The UN Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine reported 79 executions of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) by Russian forces since late August 2024, according to the UN website on Feb. 3.

3 February 2025, 05:15 PM

Families rally in Kyiv urging release of Ukrainian POWs held in Russia

On Jan. 19, near Kyiv's Lybidska metro station, families of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and concerned citizens held a rally to keep the plight of those still detained in Russia at the forefront of public consciousness. Organisers urged Kyiv residents and visitors to join the event, emphasizing the critical issue of prisoner exchanges.

20 January 2025, 07:45 PM

Russian marine admits role in POW executions after capture in Ukraine

Ukrainian Defense Forces captured a Russian soldier in Russia's Kursk Oblast who is accused of participating in the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war. Military journalist Andriy Tsaplienko reported the news on Jan. 13 via his Telegram channel, sharing a video snippet of the captive's interrogation.

13 January 2025, 04:45 PM

Ukraine investigates POWs execution by Russian troops in Zaporizhzhya Oblast

Five of the six unarmed Ukrainian soldiers captured by Russian troops near the village of Novodarivka, Zaporizhzhya Oblast, were executed on Nov. 24, the Prosecutor General's Office reported on Telegram on Nov. 28.

28 November 2024, 02:40 PM

Ukraine's human rights commissioner calls for action after execution of POWs near Pokrovsk

Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets has condemned the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war by Russian forces near Pokrovsk in Donetsk Oblast, calling it a grave war crime and urging international action in a Telegram post on Nov. 26.

26 November 2024, 02:55 PM

563 fallen soldiers’ bodies returned to Ukraine

Ukraine received the bodies of 563 fallen soldiers on Nov. 8.

8 November 2024, 09:49 PM

Partners in Montreal pledge to help return all detained and deported Ukrainians

Ukraine's partners committed to bringing back all Ukrainians abducted or taken prisoners at the war the Human Dimension Ministerial Conference on the Peace Formula in Montreal, Presidential Office reported on Oct. 31.

1 November 2024, 08:07 AM

UN report exposes widespread torture of Ukrainian prisoners by Russia

Russian forces have been regularly torturing Ukrainian prisoners of war at all stages of their captivity, according to an official report from the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR).

2 October 2024, 05:50 PM

Ukrainian POWs

1
2