Overview

• Ukraine reports that more than 200 Ukrainian POWs have died in Russian detention since the full-scale invasion began in 2022.
• Ukrainian medical examiners documented heart failure, tuberculosis, pneumonia, infection and blunt force injuries among repatriated POWs, with missing organs hindering cause-of-death determinations.
• A 2024 U.N. report found that 95% of released Ukrainian POWs endured systematic torture and ill-treatment in Russian prisons.
• A recent prisoner exchange returned dozens of bodies in mutilated or decomposed condition, which officials say points to efforts by Russian authorities to conceal abusive treatment.
• Ukraine will present testimony from former POWs and autopsy findings as part of war crimes charges against Russia at the International Criminal Court.