The head of the UN human rights mission in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, said that Russia does not provide access to Ukrainian prisoners of war. She added that the UN has evidence that some prisoners were subjected to torture and ill-treatment by the Russians, which could amount to war crimes.
Reuters writes about it.
“The Russian Federation has not provided access to prisoners of war held on its territory or in territory under its occupation... This is all the more worrying since we have documented that prisoners of war in the power of the Russian Federation and held by the Russian Federationʼs armed forces or by affiliated armed groups have suffered torture and ill-treatment," said Bogner.
Answering a question about Russiaʼs detention of Ukrainian prisoners, she noted that she sees signs of war crimes.
"In terms of the treatment of prisoners of war, certainly some of the issues could rise to being war crimes - issues of torture and ill treatment of prisoners of war," the head of the UN human rights mission emphasized.
According to Bogner, there is a "welcoming process" in Russian captivity — when Ukrainian prisoners are forced to walk or run between rows of guards, who take turns brutally beating them. Her team also received information about Ukrainian prisoners in the colony in Olenivka, who have infectious diseases, including hepatitis A and tuberculosis.
Bogner also called on Russia to release four pregnant prisoners of war held in the Russian-occupied territories of Ukraine.
- On September 8, it became known that the UN mission will arrive in Olenivka in the coming days, where the Ukrainian prisoners of war "Azov" were killed.
- On August 23, Ukraine submitted a series of urgent demands to the European Court of Human Rights regarding the defenders of "Azovstal", in particular, to prevent the "tribunal" of military personnel and torture.