Author
Nestor Barchuk
Nestor Barchuk is a servicemen of the 1st Corps Azov of the National Guard of Ukraine and a lawyer specializing in international advocacy for the release of prisoners of war and the investigation of the war crime committed at a penal colony in Russian-occupied Olenivka.
Articles
Russia has tortured Ukrainian POWs for years. Now they're even more vulnerable
On Sept. 29, 2025, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a law withdrawing from the European Convention for the Prevention of Torture, symbolically making Russia the first country in history to abandon this anti-torture pact.
Russia’s government attempted to present the withdrawal as a matter of “procedural fairness.” Moscow claimed it was forced out because the Council of Europe had denied Russia participation in the governing committee of the European Committee for the Prevention of Torture
Russia’s war crime in Olenivka is a test for international justice
Three years ago, on the night of July 28-29, 2022, Russians blew up a barrack in the penal colony in Olenivka, killing over 50 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and injuring around 130.
The victims were soldiers of the Azov Brigade who had defended Mariupol and left the Azovstal plant following an order from Ukraine’s highest military and political command. Going into captivity was part of an agreed plan involving the United Nations and the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
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