According to reports, a top official in the Sri Lankan government stated that the government will send a delegation to Russia to investigate the fate of hundreds of nationals reportedly fighting in the war in Ukraine.
Editor’s Note: This article was published by the twice-weekly newsletter “The Counteroffensive with Tim Mak” on May 12, 2024, and has been re-published by the Kyiv Independent with permission. To subscribe to "The Counteroffensive," click here. Prisoner negotiations between Ukraine and Russia are one of the many things obscured
As Ukraine prepares for a major peace summit in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky sees an opportunity to free all Ukrainian prisoners from Russia before the end of the war. After the start of the full-scale invasion, Russia has seized thousands of Ukrainians, from soldiers to children, adding them to the
Ukraine is open to considering an all-for-all prisoner of war (POW) exchange, and will discuss the idea at the upcoming Peace Summit in Switzerland in June, President Volodymyr Zelensky said on May 3.
Since last December, Russian forces likely executed at least 15 Ukrainian soldiers who tried to surrender and possibly six who were already surrendering or had surrendered, Human Rights Watch (HRW) said on May 2.
Adil Muhammad, a Somali, sits in a Russian military uniform among other prisoners of war (POWs) in a press conference in Ukraine’s capital in mid-March. The former infantryman was captured in combat near Marinka in Donetsk Oblast while fighting with the Russian army in Ukraine in early 2024, five
At least 54 Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) have been executed by Russian soldiers, the head of the War Crimes Department in Ukraine's Prosecutor General's Office, Yurii Belousov, said on April 9.
The Prosecutor General's Office has opened an investigation into a video that purportedly shows Russian soldiers shooting three captured and unarmed Ukrainian servicemen in Kherson Oblast, the office announced on April 7.
Turkish Ombudsman Seref Malkoc is planning to visit Ukrainian prisoners of war who have been held in Russia, he said in an interview to Ukrinform on April 5.
"Calling for respect for the principles of international law, I express desire for a general exchange of all prisoners between Russia and Ukraine: all for all!" Pope Francis said on March 31, according to Vatican News.
Key developments on March 26: * UN: At least 32 Ukrainian POWs executed in Russian captivity during winter * Russian landing ship Konstantin Olshansky hit with Neptune missile, says Ukraine * Ukraine dismisses Security Council secretary Danilov * Polish official says NATO considering shooting down Russian missiles that approach its borders * SBU says it
Russia increasingly involves foreign mercenaries from countries with a "difficult economic situation" in the all-out war in Ukraine, Petro Yatsenko, a spokesperson of Ukraine's Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War, said on March 15 during the press conference in Kyiv.
Russian torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) is “widespread and systematic” and shows a “blatant disregard for human dignity,” a report from a United Nations commission of inquiry on Ukraine said on March 15.
Russia has not yet provided Ukraine with any official list confirming that there were Ukrainian prisoners of war (POW) on board the Il-76 aircraft that crashed in Belgorod Oblast in late January, chief Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets said on March 1.
Law enforcement opened an investigation into Russian troops executing seven Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners of war (POWs) in Donetsk Oblast, the Prosecutor General’s Office reported on Feb. 25.
Russian troops killed at least seven Ukrainian soldiers who surrendered as prisoners of war (POW) near Bakhmut in Donetsk Oblast on Feb. 24, Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets reported.
The captives are spread across Russia and the occupied territories, according to Ukraine’s Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets. Many are religious figures, journalists, NGO workers, and representatives from local governments, he said.
In a video published by the Ground Forces, Ukrainian soldiers approached a group of Russian troops in a trench. One of them started to shoot and killed two Ukrainian soldiers.
It was one of the largest groups of Ukrainian prisoners to be brought back from Russian captivity since the beginning of the full-scale war.
Editor’s note: The location of the prisoner of the war detention center is undisclosed for security reasons. The Kyiv Independent got vocal recorded agreement from the prisoners of the war to be interviewed and identified in the story. Undisclosed location in Western Ukraine – Private Alexey Strelkov massages his knee
On the evening of Feb. 24, Nataliia Sivak received a terrifying message from her younger brother, Ukrainian soldier Yakiv Nehrii. "Tell everyone I love them very much," the message read. "We are under heavy attack." It was the last time she heard from him. When Russia launched its full-scale war
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