Another five or six prisoners released by the separatists decided to stay in rebel-controlled territories. In another cell, there are three young men in their 20s. Permission was granted on the condition that DW would not report the exact whereabouts of the prisoners or show their faces. One year has passed since Russia launched its full-scale war against Ukraine. They said that a Ukrainian soldier interviewed claimed five Russian soldiers had been captured, one of whom was killed while trying to escape. A warden kept watch this month over prisoners of war at a camp in western Ukraine. Matilda Bogner, Head of the UNs human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, said that, over the past few months, her team had interviewed 159 prisoners of war or POWs - both men and women, held by Russia, and 175 male prisoners of war held by Ukraine. There are two main uses of the conscripts in these assaults: as storm troops who move in waves, followed by more experienced Russian fighters; and as intentional targets, to draw fire and thus identify Ukrainian positions to hit with artillery. Ukrainian prisoners described so-called "admission procedures" upon arrival at the place of internment, which involved prolonged beatings, strangling, twisting or breaking of joints or bones, attacks by dog, tasering, mock executions, sexual violence, stripping and use of stress positions. It's so dystopian that it's really hard to believe. Such episodes lasted up to hours and took place at all times of the day and night," the report said. The prisoners also said they were forced to sing Russian children's songs and were beaten if they refused or made mistakes, according to U.N. investigators. [38] Among those still held by the separatists, 74 were soldiers. Relatives mourn the death of Fathullo Narzulloev, a Tajik convict who was killed in Ukraine. Russia did not, so interviews were conducted with Ukrainian POWs when they were released. "I asked the commander what we were doing here and the answer I got is that I should not ask unnecessary questions," Dmitry remembers. Guards used it to immobilize their victims and start torturing them.". [52] At the end of December 2019, a new prisoner exchange took place, with Ukraine releasing 124 separatist fighters and their supporters, while 76 prisoners, including 12 soldiers, were returned to Ukraine by the rebels. Now she is convinced that, of course, this attack was linked to her investigation and they managed to rush her husband to [the] hospital. The exact number of Russian inmates recruited is hard to establish. "He offers to set up a kind of private military company, which will be able to do the Kremlin's work for it, but retain that kind of deniability. Prisoners of war were cut off their genitals with a knife, opened their stomachs, cut their throats and cut off their heads <> Three Private Sergei, an ex-convict and Russian recruit for the Wagner paramilitary group. To view this video please enable JavaScript, and consider upgrading to a web browser that supports HTML5 video. But if you survive this, I've got your back. [368][369][370] Among the released Ukrainian soldiers was one of 13 Ukrainian border-guard members captured during the Russian attack on Snake Island. According to the meal plan posted in the hallway, food is served three times a day. CNN Sans & 2016 Cable News Network. According to the Ukrainian Ministry of Justice, around 3,000 hryvnia (the equivalent of 95) are needed each month for a prisoner of war to provide for food, clothing, hygiene items, as well as water and electricity. "I believed the news on television that we were going to travel to Ukraine to help, that there were nationalists here who would kill and torture their own people," he says. The Times also viewed videos of interrogations by the Ukrainian authorities. "We are asked every day if we need anything. One of them is Dmitry. Her mother was also killed in the attack. Why is China cracking down on prominent business figures? Four other civilian journalists and media workers from Russia: On 26 June, head of the Ukrainian Air Force, On 30 June, Thalita do Valle, a Brazilian model and actor, was killed by a missile strike, whilst fighting in, On 3 September, Vyacheslav Nalivaiko, soldier and the Director of the military enterprise, On 19 September, Major Andriy Nikolaychuk, Deputy Commander of the. The soldiers in Sergeis squad were recruited from penal colonies by the private military company known as Wagner, whose forces have mostly been deployed in the Bakhmut area. Scenes in the video match the scenery on Google Street View of the main road outside Dmytrivka, which is about seven miles south-west of Bucha with roads to Irpin. Me and my colleague, when we were researching this article, we managed to get hold of a few prisoners who are still in prison and speak with them either by text message or in other ways, and ask them how they saw this guy, why people agreed to go, why, in that case, they didn't agree to go. And for those who have not fancied it and have decided that they want to either defect or don't want to advance, we've had numerous credible reports that there's been executions of their own people as kind of punishment for disobeying orders and to keep everybody else in line and forcing them to to sort of surge forward in these pretty grim, almost suicidal movements forward. In comparison, Russia suffered somewhere between 13,000 to 25,000 fatalities in Chechnya over a period of 15 years and the Soviet Union also suffered roughly 14,000 to 16,000 combat fatalities in Afghanistan. Russias deployment of former convicts is a dark chapter in a vicious war. [108], By December 2022, 19 of Ukraine's 24 oblasts had been documented by open-source intelligence to have civilian deaths. He speaks in quite coarse language. [107][102] The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) considers the number of civilian casualties to be considerably higher than the one the United Nations are able to certify. He's basically saying, look, you're probably going to die. The arrangement, he said, was not offered to rapists and drug addicts, but murderers, burglars and other prisoners were welcome. Ukraine and Russia on Thursday exchanged prisoners of war for the first time in the conflict, exactly one month after the fighting began. [265][266] Kyiv authorities have also reached out to the International Commission on Missing Persons, which was formed to help after the 1990s Balkan conflicts and the 1995 Srebrenica massacre, and identifies individuals by collecting DNA samples from the deceased and families to cross match. DW is not naming the exact location of the building for security reasons. Now, the tables have turned: Russia has deployed about 320,000 soldiers in Ukraine, according to Ukraines military intelligence agency. Its effective. The report added that other prisoners described similar forms of sexual violence such as "pulling a victim by a rope tied around his genitalia.". Got a confidential news tip? He's not sugarcoating this at all. A soldier can then be heard shouting Glory to Ukraine. Friday marks one year since Russia invaded Ukraine, and two Alabama men went to Ukraine to support them in the fight. Investigators said more than 80% of the former Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed complained about the insufficient amount or poor quality of food. The vast majority of Ukrainian prisoners who were interviewed said that during their internment they were tortured and ill-treated. [373], On 8 March, a Ukrainian defense reporter with The Kyiv Independent announced that the Ukrainian government was working towards having Russian POWs help revive Ukraine's economy in full compliance with international law. So it's kind of a bit of a sort of mafia touch. Two Russian soldiers taken prisoner near Kyiv, by Ukraine following Russia's military operation in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. A private named Aleksandr, 44, who shaved three years off a sentence for illegal logging by enlisting with Wagner, said that before deploying to the front he was told he would be shot if he disobeyed orders to advance. Initially, the known number of Ukrainian military casualties varied widely due to the Ukrainian Army drastically understating its casualties,[17] as reported by medics, activists and soldiers on the ground, as well as at least one lawmaker. The New York Times said it had verified the video and the BBC said it had confirmed the location north of the town of Dmytrivka and found satellite images showing bodies on the ground. "Some identified hunger as the most severe hardship suffered while in captivity," the authors of the report wrote. The report said prisoners of war, or POWs, were then sent to places of internment in inhumane ways: They were often transported in overcrowded trucks or buses and sometimes lacked access to water or toilets for more than a day. A few metres away from the bodies is a BMD-2 infantry fighting vehicle which is used by the Russian airborne unit. So there is part of this, I think that is about this guy saying to these people, even convicted of horrific crimes, you do your time at the front and you will get redemption and you will be released back into society and you will become part of society. [11][12], According to the Armed Forces of Ukraine, 1,175 of the Ukrainian servicemen died due to non-combat causes by 5 March 2021. Eight soldiers were killed, one escaped back to Russian lines and Sergei was captured by Ukrainians. The prisoners are also said to have been examined by a lie detector. In the early phases of thewar, the Russian Army had copious armored vehicles, artillery and other heavy weaponry but relatively few soldiers on the battlefield. Also in the same month, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) said the Russian military began recruiting sick and injured people from hospitals to replace the people it lost in the war. [379] On 22 April, Yuri Sirovatko, Minister of Justice of the Donetsk People's Republic, claimed that some 3,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war were held in the territory of the DPR. However, a major criticism is that it fails to Earlier, CNN reported that prisoners for the war against Ukraine are now directly recruited by the Russian Defense Ministry. We were hit by machine-gun fire, said the soldier, a private named Sergei. Copyright IBTimes 2023. During the Russian annexation of Crimea[1] from 23 February through 19 March 2014, six people were killed. "My cousin is fighting in a neighboring unit, and there were prisoners from Wagner already diagnosed with AIDS, syphilis, and hepatitis, but I know they still received medical care," he said. NATO: Finland forges ahead of Sweden toward membership, Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy calls for ICC Russia probe, Russian troops step up fight to cut off Bakhmut supply lines. trial of a Russian prisoner of war in Ukraine. "The Kremlin is sort of looking for ways to disguise the fact that its troops are active in Ukraine [and] Prigozhin steps in," Walker says. One woman told U.N. investigators, "I still cannot stand the sound of duct tape. 16, 2022A Ukrainian police officer stands inside a detention center used by the Russian forces for interrogations, detentions, and torture according to the Ukrainian authorities on Nov. 16, 2022. [56][57] Additionally, at least 262 foreign-born Ukrainian citizens or foreigners died on the Ukrainian side. [371] Later, on 1 April, 86 Ukrainian servicemen were exchanged[372] for an unknown number of Russian troops. At least 306 foreign civilians were killed in the war in Donbas prior to the 2022 invasion: As a consequence of the conflict, large swaths of the Donbas region have become contaminated with landmines and other explosive remnants of war (ERW). This On the table next to their beds is a stack of books. Vo vojne dajne zomrel Slovk, ktor bojoval na strane Rusov", " "" , "" , "" . The New York Times estimated that about 40,000 inmates have joined the Russian forces roughly 10% of the country's prison population. WebSTORY: Videos released by the Ukrainian secret service and the Russian defense ministry showed the prisoners returning from captivity. He's not pretending that this is going to be pleasant or this is going to be a holiday. 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Ukraines foreign minister, Dmytro Kuleba, said on Thursday he was aware of the video and it would definitely be investigated. He spent three months at the front as a stretcher bearer before being ordered forward. The prisoners are identified only by first name and rank for security reasons, because of the possibility of retribution once they are returned. [49], In December 2017, a large prisoner exchange took place where the rebels released 73 out of 176 prisoners they were holding, while Ukraine released 306 out of 380 of their prisoners. Laundry hung in a courtyard at the camp. United Nations investigators found that some prisoners lost up to a quarter of their body weight as a result of the lack of food, poor hygiene and sickness. A Ukrainian soldier interviewed claimed five Russian soldiers taken prisoner near Kyiv, December... April, 86 Ukrainian servicemen were exchanged [ 372 ] for an unknown number of Russian troops near! 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