Propaganda and Prisoners: Russian Media Narratives on Ukrainian POWs – Foreign Media Scan
By: Valeriia Gusieva
The issue of prisoners of war (POWs) has become a strategic extension of the Russian Federation’s propaganda machine: used to spread disinformation about mass voluntary surrender, Ukraine’s alleged refusal to comply with prisoner exchanges, and Russia’s ironic invocation of the Geneva Conventions to legitimize its position. This media scan analyzes how Russian state-aligned outlets such as News.ru, Ukraina.ru and Telegram channels of government officials construct and manipulate narratives as it relates to POWs. In doing so, it illustrates how Russia strategically deploys dis/misinformation to distort the international support for Ukraine and undermine international law.
The precise number of Ukrainian soldiers currently held as POWs by Russia remains unclear, though estimates suggest the figure exceeds 8,000. Ukraine has not released official data on how many of its troops are detained by Russia. In June 2024, Russian President Vladimir Putin claimed that around 6,465 Ukrainian service members were in Russian custody, though this number has not been independently verified. Meanwhile, according to Putin, Ukraine is holding 1,348 Russian POWs.
The Narrative of Voluntary Surrender
Russian state-aligned media has continued to promote a narrative that Ukrainian soldiers are surrendering voluntarily and in large numbers, often citing a lack of motivation, inadequate battlefield preparation, fear, and better treatment in Russian captivity.
- Russian Military analyst Vasily Dandykin attributes this trend to poor leadership, high casualties, and the deployment of untrained conscripts, which, he argues, has shattered morale within the Ukrainian ranks.
- Chechen leader Ramzan Kadyrov claimed that Ukrainian POWs feel “safe” with Russian forces and fear being sent back to the front lines if returned to Ukraine.
- Deputy Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee, Alexei Zhuravlyov, reinforced the narrative of Russian military compassion, stating: “No one wants to die. [Ukrainian soldiers] always count on the mercy of the Russian soldier, who may threaten not to take enemies alive a thousand times, but in the end will feel pity, offer food, and provide first aid to a wounded enemy.”
The narrative of voluntary surrender portrays the Ukrainian military as disorganized and broken, suggesting not only an inevitable defeat but also potentially aiming to undermine international military support for Ukraine’s Armed Forces. Importantly, this rhetoric serves to humanize Russian troops and obscure credible reports of POW abuse and violations of international humanitarian law. To read more about violations, see previous analysis: Abuses and Accountability: Unmasking Russia’s War Crimes Against Ukrainian Soldiers as Prisoners of War Under International Humanitarian Law.
Using Ukrainian POWs to Pressure Ukraine’s Political Leadership
The Russian state-aligned outlet Ukraina.ru published interviews back in 2022 with Ukrainian POWs in which they allegedly claimed they joined the military for financial reasons and expressed no desire to return to combat if released from Russian captivity.
- “We won’t fight, we want to live in peace.”- Ukrainian POWs
In a recent article from Komsomolskaya Pravda, a POW is quoted addressing President Zelensky directly:
- “We need to come to an agreement and live normally, just like we did during the Soviet Union.”
This is not a new tactic. Russian media frequently circulates staged videos of Ukrainian POWs in which they appear to say they surrendered voluntarily and are being treated well in captivity. These narratives serve to legitimize Russian actions, undermine the morale of Ukrainian forces, and distort the reality of the POW experience for both domestic and international audiences as well as put political pressure on the Ukrainian state apparatus to agree to Russian conditions of surrender.
Weaponization of International Law
The Russian side has invoked the Geneva Conventions to accuse the Ukrainian government of violating fundamental principles related to the treatment of POWs, particularly in the context of prisoner exchanges. Margarita Simonyan, editor-in-chief of RT, formerly Russia Today, and the Rossiya Segodnya media group, claimed in June 2024 that Ukraine is refusing to repatriate 500 Ukrainian POWs currently held by Russia. According to Simonyan, Kyiv is only interested in retrieving members of the Azov Battalion, which Russia designates as an extremist organization. Azov battalion has been a target of the Russian propaganda machine and during the defense of Azovstal, soldiers from the battalion testified that for them, death is a better option than Russian captivity, as they do not expect that the Russian side would treat them fairly. Similarly, Olga Fyodorovna Kovitidi, who has served as the Russian Federation’s Senator from Crimea since 2014, accused Ukraine of serious human rights violations.
- She stated: “Ukraine is once again demonstrating an unprecedented violation of human rights. By rejecting the Russian side’s proposal for a full exchange of Ukrainian POWs under Russian control, the Ukrainian authorities have opted for a selective repatriation of their own military personnel.”
Russia has used selective legal arguments to portray Ukraine as obstructive in prisoner exchanges, particularly when Kyiv prioritizes vulnerable individuals like Azov Battalion members, whose safety is at greater risk in Russian custody. The attempt of the state-aligned media to frame Ukraine as extremist and non-complaint with international law aims to delegitimize Ukraine’s political and military leadership and ruin the international support for Ukraine.
Recent Development: 1,000-for-1,000 Prisoner Swap
Following the negotiations between Ukrainian and Russian delegations in Istanbul, there was renewed momentum toward a large-scale prisoner swap based on a “1,000 for 1,000” model. If implemented, it would mark the largest exchange since the beginning of Russia’s full-scale reinvasion of Ukraine.
- According to Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova, this proposal originated from the Russian side: “The initiative for the 1,000-for-1,000 prisoner exchange, which was agreed upon during the Istanbul talks, came from Russia. I want to emphasize once again that it was a Russian initiative put forward by the heads of our delegation. So let no one try to take credit for it from any other side.”
However, earlier in 2024, Ukraine had already proposed an “all-for-all” exchange model. Ukrainian Ombudsman Dmytro Lubinets publicly stated, “I can confirm that Ukraine has never refused to exchange prisoners of war.”
Currently, the delay in the prisoner swap is attributed to the ongoing verification of names. The Russian side has provided Kyiv with a list of individuals, and various Ukrainian security services are reviewing the identities. Additionally, according to a report by News.ru, Ukrainian authorities are seeking to include civilians in the exchange — specifically those involved in cases related to treason, separatism, and collaboration with enemy. However, only a few of these individuals have agreed to be part of the swap, and it is yet unclear how Russia will react to the increased number of civilians in the list. Furthermore, Chairman of the State Duma Defense Committee Andrey Kartapolov claimed that the Ukrainian side does not have 1,000 prisoners to exchange with Russia.
On May 23rd, Russia and Ukraine each exchanged 390 individuals—comprising 270 military personnel and 120 civilians—in the largest prisoner swap since the full-scale Russian invasion began in 2022. The exchange took place along the Ukrainian border with Belarus and was carried out under the only agreement reached during direct talks held in Istanbul.
Although the Russian Federation has portrayed itself as the principal initiator of this large-scale exchange, the extent to which this claim reflects genuine intent remains uncertain, and it is still unclear whether all Ukrainian prisoners of war will, in fact, be reunited with their families.
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