102 War crimes – POWs
Moscow scrupulously observes Geneva Conventions on treatment of POWs 
Russia commits war crimes against Ukrainian prisoners of war, even against illegally imprisoned medical and pastoral personnel
Geneva Convention1 prohibits violence against prisoners of war. Furthermore it requires to repatriate captured medical personnel, unless the medical personel is needed to take care of other Prisoners of War (POWs).2 This implies that captured medical personnel must not simply be jailed, let alone treated with violence.
102.1 Olenivka prison
Russians committed a blatant act of killing hostages in Olenivka prison, Donetsk region, on 29 July, 2022: 53 killed and over 130 wounded. But so far, no international mission has been able to get to the scene to determine the cause and exact number of casualties.3
102.2 Executions
Russia is executing more and more Ukrainian prisoners of war4.
For example Ukrainian sniper Oleksandr Matsievsky was captured by Russians in the first year of the full-scale invasion. Later, a video emerged showing him smoking his last cigarette in a forest, apparently next to a grave he had been forced to dig. “Glory to Ukraine!” he says to his captors. Moments later, shots ring out and he falls dead. His execution is one of many. The Ukrainian prosecution service says that at least 147 Ukrainian prisoners of war have been executed by Russian forces since the start of the full-scale invasion, 127 of them in 2024.
102.3 Torture
Russia commits systematic human rights violations, sexual violence and other forms of torture against POWs.5. They even torture medical personel.6
See also the chapters on sexual violence (Chapter 103) and torture (Chapter 104).
Geneva Convention relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War. (n.d.). UN Human Rights Office. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/geneva-convention-relative-treatment-prisoners-war↩︎
Commentary of 1952 on Convention (I) for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field. Geneva, 12 August 1949. International Humanitarian Law Databases.↩︎
Lee, J. S., Oakford, S., Parker, C., & Ilyushina, M. (2022, August 6). What we know about the blast that killed Ukrainian POWs in Olenivka. Washington Post. Retrieved May 1, 2024, from https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2022/08/06/olenivka-prison-explosion-ukraine-russia/↩︎
Russia is executing more and more Ukrainian prisoners of war. (2024, December 21). BBC news.↩︎
Teils monatelange Folter von ukrainischen Kriegsgefangenen. (2024, März 15.). Zeit online↩︎
Ukrainische Kriegsgefangene - «Wir waren gefesselt und durften nicht auf die Toilette». (2024, November 14th). SRF news↩︎