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    Prisoners of war

    MIHR contributes to the development of a map documenting the locations where the Azov fighters are held in Russian captivity
    MIHR contributes to the development of a map documenting the locations where the Azov fighters are held in Russian captivity

    28 May 2025 saw a presentation of the Inferno project’s website and interactive map in Kyiv. This initiative is led by the Azovstal Defenders’ Families Association and the International Cooperation Department of the 1st Azov Corps of the National Guard of Ukraine. The Media Initiative for Human Rights has joined the project as one of the partners by providing data to create the map of detention facilities.

    29 May 2025

    The great exchange: a report on how a thousand Ukrainians returned home
    The great exchange: a report on how a thousand Ukrainians returned home

    Gaunt men — former prisoners of war — step off the bus. In the hospital yard, families of the missing hold photos, searching for a glance, a word, a sign of recognition. Nearby — silence, sirens, and the hope that someone might say: “I saw him.” A report from the exchange.

    25 May 2025

    94% of Ukrainian Prisoners of War Convicted in Russia Are Accused of Terrorism
    94% of Ukrainian Prisoners of War Convicted in Russia Are Accused of Terrorism

    Monitoring of unlawful court cases against Ukrainian prisoners of war, conducted by the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR), shows that courts in the occupied territories mostly convict POWs for "murders," while courts in Russia hand down verdicts based on "terrorism" charges.

    23 April 2025

    Three Sleepless Years, Cancer and Despair: Families of Captive Marines Speak of “Dual Torture”
    Three Sleepless Years, Cancer and Despair: Families of Captive Marines Speak of “Dual Torture”

    Around 1,300 Ukrainian marines remain in Russian captivity. For the past three years, their families have been fighting to bring them home. But alongside this uphill battle is another, quieter war – the fight to preserve their health. Families describe their experience as a form of dual torture: while the marines endure physical and psychological abuse in Russian prisons, the pain and suffering reverberate back home.

    16 April 2025

    No Evidence Needed, Just Four Letters: Azov. Prisoners of War Sentenced in Rostov-on-Don
    No Evidence Needed, Just Four Letters: Azov. Prisoners of War Sentenced in Rostov-on-Don

    The Southern District Military Court of Rostov-on-Don has handed down sentences to 24 current and former members of the Azov Brigade. They were sentenced to between 13 and 23 years of imprisonment, all to be served in maximum-security penal colonies. Eleven were tried in absentia, and one died in a pre-trial detention center.

    26 March 2025

    Ukrainian Captives Forced to Sing the Russian Anthem and Apologize to Russians
    Ukrainian Captives Forced to Sing the Russian Anthem and Apologize to Russians

    Russia is attempting to break the spirit of captured Ukrainians and force them to obtain Russian citizenship. They are offered good jobs, new housing, and promises to bring their families from Ukraine. Those who refuse exchange and accept Russian citizenship are recruited into the Bohdan Khmelnytskyi Battalion to fight against Ukraine.

    6 March 2025

    Two Ukrainian combat pilots convicted in Russia plan to go on hunger strike
    Two Ukrainian combat pilots convicted in Russia plan to go on hunger strike

    Ukrainian pilots Oleksandr Morozov and Dmytro Shymanskyi have been sentenced in Moscow to 22 and 26 years of imprisonment. The Russians convicted them as terrorists, even though they are, in fact, servicemen of the Ukrainian army. However, unlike Shymanskyi, Morozov is not recognized as a prisoner of war even in Ukraine.

    5 March 2025

    Russian Detention Centers Use National Anthem as a Method of Psychological Pressure on Prisoners — Infographic
    Russian Detention Centers Use National Anthem as a Method of Psychological Pressure on Prisoners — Infographic

    60% of former detainees in Russian detention centers (SIZOs) interviewed by the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) reported that they were forced to learn the Russian national anthem, as well as songs and poems glorifying Russia.

    27 February 2025

    1000 Days in Captivity: What Is Happening with the Marines Who Defended Mariupol
    1000 Days in Captivity: What Is Happening with the Marines Who Defended Mariupol

    — We were standing by the barracks on the territory of Olenivka and watching for five hours […]

    6 January 2025

    184 Ukrainians died in Russian captivity since the beginning of full-scale war ─ Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War
    184 Ukrainians died in Russian captivity since the beginning of full-scale war ─ Coordination Center for the Treatment of Prisoners of War

    The Media Initiative for Human Rights has received information on the officially confirmed number of Ukrainians who died in Russian captivity. Most of them are prisoners of war, but there are also civilians. MIHR also investigated the most common causes of death in captivity.

    23 December 2024

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