Ukrainian Prisoners Report Physical and Psychological Violence in Russian Detention

Thousands of Ukrainian soldiers and civilians have been subjected to physical and psychological violence in detention centres in Russia and in occupied Ukraine. Nine people including former detainees and Russian prison officers provided accounts of the treatment.

The testimonies describe repeated beatings, electric shocks, prolonged stress positions and other forms of mistreatment intended to break prisoners. Detainees reported being forced to remain in painful positions for hours while guards used batons, stun guns and other implements.

Russian prison officers who spoke to AFP said such methods were used routinely on Ukrainian prisoners. One officer described the goal as reducing prisoners to a state of total submission. The accounts include both military personnel captured in combat and civilians detained in occupied territories.

Former detainees said interrogators demanded information on Ukrainian troop positions, weapons caches and local resistance networks. Treatment reportedly began immediately upon arrival at holding facilities. Prisoners described being stripped, beaten and subjected to mock executions before formal processing.

Medical care was limited even for those with visible injuries. Facilities in both Russia and occupied Ukraine followed similar patterns according to the collected statements. The nine accounts align on the use of consistent techniques across multiple sites.

Prisoners said they were held in overcrowded cells with limited access to food, water and sanitation. Psychological pressure included isolation, threats to family members and false claims that Ukraine had abandoned them. Some former detainees reported long-term physical effects including nerve damage, chronic pain and hearing loss from repeated beatings.

Others described lasting psychological trauma that persisted after release or exchange. They described the approach as standard operating procedure at their facilities. International humanitarian law prohibits torture and cruel treatment of prisoners of war and civilians in occupied territory.

Russia has previously denied systematic mistreatment of Ukrainian detainees.