Ukraine has allocated Hr 34.05 million ($908,000) from the reserve fund of the Justice Ministry to repair a prisoner of war (POW) camp for Russian soldiers, the government reported on Jan. 23.
Ukraine is a signatory of the Geneva Convention on the Treatment of Prisoners of War, which stipulates that POWs must be treated humanely and be housed in decent conditions away from the combat zone.
Under the Geneva Convention, POWs must be housed in camps that provide access to religious needs, intellectual diversions, and sports facilities. The detention of POWs in prison cells is prohibited.
Before allocating the money, the government declared that during martial law, costs related to POWs may be funded from the state budget reserve fund.
The government said the funding will allow the buildings in one of the camps to be repaired, increasing the camp's capacity.
Chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said in April 2023 that Russian treatment of Ukrainian POWs does not impact how Ukraine treats Russian POWs after alleged executions of captive Ukrainian soldiers appeared online.
"Ukraine fully complies with the Geneva Conventions," Lubinets told RFE/RL. "My employees regularly come there as well as representatives of the International Committee of the Red Cross, international experts, even international journalists."
Russian captives can also talk to their relatives regularly, Lubinets said, in contrast with Ukrainian POWs in Russia, who "do not even have the opportunity to write a letter."
"We show as openly as possible that we are different from Russia, we keep our obligations, we protect the rights of prisoners of war, even those who came to kill us," Lubinets said.
Alexander Khrebet
