As of today, 406 Ukrainian prisoners of war held in Russia have been tortured to death, said Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights Dmytro Lubinets.
“Russia is currently one of the world’s largest exporters of war crimes: 406 of our prisoners of war in Russia have been tortured to death. Russia returns even those who were officially confirmed by international organizations, including the ICRC, in a tortured state… Russian captivity is a conveyor belt of death,” he said during the presentation of a study on violations of prisoners of war’ rights to medical care.
The ombudsman is calling for strict decisions and separate resolutions at the level of PACE, the UN, and the OSCE.
“We demand real access for international organizations, first of all the ICRC, to all places where Ukrainian prisoners of war and illegally detained civilians are held. At present, 186 such locations in the Russian Federation have been verified… We also call on partners to apply universal jurisdiction so that every country can open criminal proceedings against Russians involved in the torture of our citizens,” he said.
Lubinets stated that the world must act decisively to save Ukrainian lives.
“Every minute of inaction costs the lives of Ukrainians who are still in Russian captivity. We speak about this openly, we shout about it on all international platforms — together with families, together with those who are waiting, and together with those who are still there, in captivity, suffering torture and humiliation,” the ombudsman stressed.
