Ukrainian prisoners of war

Ukraine's border guards retake over 10 square kilometers on Pivdenno-Slobozhanskyi front

Ukraine’s Forpost brigade of the State Border Guard Service has returned more than 10 square kilometers of territory on the Pivdenno-Slobozhanskyi front to Ukrainian control, the agency’s press service reported on Oct. 3.

3 October, 10:23 PM

Ukraine brings home 185 prisoners of war in latest exchange with Russia

Ukraine and Russia carried out a prisoner exchange on June 5, with 185 Ukrainian defenders returning home, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reported.

5 June, 04:58 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

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

Ukraine calls Russia's handover of 2 POWs to Hungary a provocation

Ukraine condemned Russia's transfer of two captured Ukrainian servicemen to Hungary as a deliberate provocation intended to violate the Geneva Conventions and worsen relations between Kyiv and Budapest, the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War reported on March 5.

5 March, 11:07 AM

Kremlin says Putin ready to meet Zelenskyy if Ukraine lifts ban

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov said on July 22 that Russia is “ready” to consider a meeting between Russian dictator Vladimir Putin and Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, but only if Ukraine lifts its official ban on direct negotiations.

22 July 2025, 08:05 PM

Ukrainian soldiers, civilians freed in latest prisoner swap with Russia

Ukraine and Russia conducted another prisoner exchange on July 4, returning a group of Ukrainian defenders to their homeland—many of whom had been in captivity since 2022, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy announced.

4 July 2025, 02:49 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

Moscow’s forced draft in occupied Ukraine sparks fury in Kyiv

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry has condemned Russia’s forced conscription of Ukrainian citizens in temporarily occupied territories into the Russian military.

1 April 2025, 11:08 AM

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

Russian forces likely behead Ukrainian soldier, preliminary identification made

Ukrainian authorities have preliminarily identified a Ukrainian soldier whose beheading was reportedly captured in photos circulated by Russian media, the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine reported on Feb. 3.

3 February 2025, 05:22 PM

Russia systematically uses torture in occupied Ukraine — UN report

The Russian military and authorities continue to use torture against Ukrainian military personnel and civilians across all territory under Moscow’s occupation, the Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine said in a report on Oct. 29.

13 November 2024, 10:08 PM

Russian troops execute 16 Ukrainian POWs

Russian troops have executed 16 Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered near Pokrovsk, Donetsk Oblast, Ukraine’s Prosecutor General's Office reported on Oct. 1.

1 October 2024, 09:47 PM

Nearly all Ukrainian POWs tortured in Russian captivity

Over 95% of Ukrainian soldiers held in Russian captivity have been subjected to torture, the head of the United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission in Ukraine, Danielle Bell, told Dutch TV channel Nederlandse Omroep Stichting on Aug. 2.

7 August 2024, 06:59 PM

Autopsy finds Ukrainian POW killed by blunt force trauma in Russian jail

Ukrainian prisoner of war Oleksandr Ishchenko, who served as a driver in the Azov Regiment, died in a detention center in Rostov-on-Don due to “a closed blunt chest injury caused by contact with a blunt object,” according to autopsy results shared by Svyatoslav Palamar, deputy commander of the 12th Azov Special Forces Brigade of the National Guard of Ukraine. The autopsy details were published on Facebook on Aug. 7.

7 August 2024, 03:51 PM

UN mission refuses to acknowledge Ukrainian evidence on Olenivka attack – Ukrainian ombudsman

Two years after the Russian terrorist attack in Olenivka, the UN mission has never agreed to review Ukrainian materials on the strike, reported Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on Facebook on July 29.

30 July 2024, 01:17 PM

Ukraine provides rehabilitation for recently released defenders

Ukrainian servicemen returned from Russian captivity on July 17 and are already undergoing rehabilitation, said HUR representative Andriy Yusov on national TV on July 18.

18 July 2024, 07:00 PM

Video of Russian soldiers abusing Ukrainian POWs spreads after being shared by UA Ombudsman - video

A video showing Russian soldiers abusing Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) has spread on the Internet after being shared by Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets on Telegram.

3 June 2024, 09:27 AM

Ukrainian POWs returning from Russian captivity — SBU video

Ukraine’s SBU security services released footage of Ukrainian servicemen returning from Russian captivity, posting on Facebook on May 31.

31 May 2024, 05:20 PM

Ukrainian prisoners of war

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