Abuses and Accountability: Unmasking Russia’s War Crimes Against Ukrainian Soldiers as Prisoners of War Under International Humanitarian Law
By: Valeriia Gusieva
On May 9, 2025, coinciding with Russia’s Victory Day parade, foreign ministers from EU and allied countries gathered in Lviv to announce the creation of a special tribunal to prosecute Russia’s top leadership for the crime of aggression against Ukraine. Although trials are unlikely to begin before 2026, the emerging political consensus on the imperative of justice marks a decisive turning point in the war; charges are anticipated to be laid against 20 senior Russian officials, including Vladimir Putin and Sergey Lavrov, as well as leaders from Belarus and potentially North Korea. This initiative draws historical parallels to the post-World War II Nuremberg Trials and underscores the international community’s growing commitment to accountability.
The foundation of international humanitarian law lies in the four Geneva Conventions, which establish legal protections for victims of armed conflict and assign the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) a central role in promoting these norms and ensuring that those affected by war and violence receive adequate assistance. Since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Western countries have consistently urged Ukraine to uphold these legal standards. Meanwhile, Russia has largely evaded accountability for its violations. Following the invasion, the International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Russian President Vladimir Putin and Commissioner for Children’s Rights in the Office of the President of the Russian Federation Maria Lvova-Belova, for alleged war crimes. However, these warrants have not led to any tangible enforcement, raising serious concerns among the Ukrainian public about the relevance and effectiveness of existing mechanisms to uphold international law. Russia’s persistent mistreatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) and its resistance to fair and reciprocal exchanges reinforce the urgent need for both a stronger global humanitarian response and the pursuit of international accountability. While the exact number of Ukrainian soldiers held in Russian captivity as POWs remains unknown, estimates suggest the figure exceeds 8,000. Ukraine does not publicly disclose the number of its POWs held by Russia. In June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin stated that approximately 6,465 Ukrainian military personnel were in Russian custody, though this number has not been independently verified. The ICRC has been denied access to many of Russia’s detention facilities, preventing any third-party verification of the conditions or total number of detainees.
Available reports from former detainees and human rights organizations paint a grim picture of systemic abuse. Ukrainian POWs are often subjected to prolonged isolation, torture, lack of medical care, and total disconnection from the outside world. According to Amnesty International, such treatment constitutes incommunicado detention and amounts to inhumane and degrading treatment under international law. The deliberate denial of oversight by international organizations, combined with evidence of physical and psychological abuse, indicates a broader strategy of erasing legal protections for POWs. These practices, occurring within the broader context of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine, meet the threshold for war crimes under international humanitarian law.
On May 6, 2025, Ukraine conducted its most recent prisoner exchange with the Russian Federation, successfully repatriating 205 POWs. According to the Kyiv Independent, this event marked the fifth confirmed POW exchange in 2025 and the 64th since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion in February 2022. Despite these ongoing efforts, the pace and scale of exchanges remain limited. At the Support Ukraine Summit on February 24, 2025, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy reaffirmed Ukraine’s readiness to engage in a comprehensive “all-for-all” exchange, characterizing it as a fair and humane solution. However, progress toward such a large-scale agreement has been hindered by Russia’s continued resistance. As noted by Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets in June 2024, if Russia had been genuinely interested in a full reciprocal exchange, it would have already occurred.
A particular example of Russian cruelty is the treatment of Azov Brigade members captured during the siege of Mariupol in 2022. After the fall of the Azovstal steel plant, over 2,500 Ukrainian defenders surrendered, including several hundred Azov fighters. Despite being registered as POWs by the ICRC, many were denied legal protections under the Geneva Conventions, as Russia has classified them as terrorists. This characterization enabled unlawful and extended detentions, closed-door trials, and widespread reports of physical, sexual, and psychological abuse and torture. As of 2025, around 900 Azov servicemen remain in Russian captivity, with some sentenced to lengthy prison terms in proceedings condemned by international legal experts. The 2022 Olenivka prison explosion, which killed more than 50 Ukrainian POWs—primarily Azovstal defenders—further exemplifies the brutality. Russia blocked all independent investigations, and no accountability has followed. The treatment of Azov prisoners stands as a stark symbol of Russia’s broader violations of international humanitarian law.
The Free Azov movement emerged as a grassroots campaign led by families, activists, and civil society groups demanding the release of Ukrainian prisoners of war, particularly members of the Azov Brigade captured during the defense of Mariupol. Originating in 2022 and gaining momentum in subsequent years, the movement organizes weekly rallies—often held in symbolic locations like Kyiv’s Maidan—blending solemn remembrance with visible public pressure. The movement seeks to keep the plight of POWs in public consciousness, pressure Ukrainian authorities to prioritize prisoner exchanges, and call for stronger international action. The Russian propaganda machine has spent years spreading disinformation about the Azov Brigade, making it especially challenging to advocate for their return and ensure they are treated as lawful POWs.
The systematic mistreatment of Ukrainian POWs by Russian authorities not only contravenes the Geneva Conventions but also exposes a chronic deficit in the enforcement of international legal doctrines. At the same time, the ICRC maintains that its role is to remain politically neutral in order to sustain dialogue with all parties involved in the armed conflict and to assist civilians, for example, by providing humanitarian aid in Russian-occupied territories. While the creation of a special tribunal represents an important step, its execution remains to be seen as previously discussed, the ICC issued a warrant for Putin’s arrest, yet he remains at large. The international community must face the question of whether there is space to create an enforcement mechanism within international humanitarian law, what such a mechanism might look like, and how to prevent its instrumentalization by states selectively applying the law to serve their own agendas and interests.
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Ukrainian prisoners of war say they were tortured at Russian prison