At least 345 Ukrainian servicemen have been executed by Russian troops after surrendering since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion, according to Ukraine’s human rights commissioner, Dmytro Lubinets.
Speaking at a press conference on Russian disinformation surrounding prisoners of war, exchanges and missing persons, Lubinets said Ukrainian authorities had documented cases in which soldiers had clearly demonstrated their intention to surrender before being killed.
“Since the beginning of the full-scale invasion, we have recorded the killing and execution of at least 345 Ukrainian servicemen who, according to documented video evidence, did everything required to surrender,” Lubinets said.
He said the soldiers had laid down their weapons, raised their hands or lain on the ground to demonstrate that they were no longer taking part in hostilities. In some documented cases, Russian troops searched the prisoners to make sure they were unarmed and ordered them to remove their clothes before shooting them at close range.
Lubinets stressed that killing servicemen who have surrendered constitutes a separate war crime under international humanitarian law.
The ombudsman also said Ukraine has verified the deaths of 375 Ukrainian citizens while in Russian captivity. The figure includes both prisoners of war and civilian detainees whose detention by Russia had been confirmed, including through the International Committee of the Red Cross. Their bodies were subsequently returned to Ukraine.
According to Lubinets, the deaths are part of a broader system of abuse in Russian detention facilities in which torture, humiliation, inadequate medical care and unlawful prosecution are used against Ukrainian prisoners.
He described the system as the “Moscow Conventions” — a deliberate contrast with the Geneva Conventions and not a legal term.
“Instead of protection, there is torture; instead of medical assistance, suffering; instead of justice, sham trials; instead of returning home, years of captivity or death,” Lubinets said.
95% of Ukrainian POWs subjected to torture
Lubinets said Ukrainian authorities have documented 695 forms or manifestations of torture used against Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees, as well as 860 cases involving improper conditions of detention.
According to the ombudsman, 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war have experienced torture or systematic abuse in Russian prisons.
The documented methods include beatings, electric shocks, sexual violence, psychological abuse, attacks or intimidation using dogs, and mock executions. Lubinets said that Ukrainian POWs have been subjected to virtually all categories of torture described in the Istanbul Protocol, the UN-backed international guidelines for investigating and documenting torture.
Ukraine has also opened hundreds of criminal proceedings over the treatment of prisoners. According to information from the Prosecutor General’s Office cited by Lubinets, between February 24, 2022, and July 10, 2026, pre-trial investigations were launched in 635 criminal proceedings concerning the mistreatment of Ukrainian POWs.
Complaints submitted by prisoners’ families to the ombudsman’s office include reports of physical and psychological violence, torture, inadequate medical treatment, insufficient or poor-quality food, and severe detention conditions. Such reports concern detention facilities in different regions of Russia, Lubinets said.
Lubinets also pointed to Russia’s prosecution of Ukrainian POWs and civilians. As of May 2026, Ukraine had verified at least 2,442 Ukrainian citizens facing criminal prosecution by Russian authorities. Of those, 1,717 had already received sentences.
Ukraine argues that these prosecutions form part of Russia’s broader system of pressure against captured servicemen and detained civilians rather than legitimate judicial proceedings.
Lubinets said the combination of torture, detention conditions, criminal prosecution and deaths in captivity demonstrates that the abuses are systematic rather than isolated incidents.
The ombudsman also rejected Russian claims that Ukraine has refused to take back some of its prisoners of war.
Lubinets said that shortly before his press conference, a Russian representative had once again published lists of Ukrainian POWs whom Moscow claimed Kyiv was unwilling to accept.
He categorically rejected the allegation.
“We have never refused any Ukrainian prisoner of war, civilian hostage or Ukrainian child,” Lubinets said. “We are ready to take absolutely everyone whom the Russian Federation is prepared to hand over to us.”
According to Lubinets, when Ukraine receives such lists, it immediately sends a request to the Russian side and confirms its readiness to collect the named citizens. Russia then begins a lengthy approval process and delays their return, he said.
Lubinets argued that the public release of such lists is intended primarily to put pressure on the families of prisoners of war and missing persons and to undermine their trust in Ukrainian institutions.
“For this category of our citizens, captivity is a terrible daily reality without an answer to the most important question: where is my loved one, what is happening to them now, and why are they not being returned?” he said.
The ombudsman said Ukraine remains prepared to accept the return of all Ukrainian POWs, civilian detainees and children held by Russia, while continuing to document alleged executions, torture and other violations committed against Ukrainians in Russian captivity.
