Over 16,000 civilians detained by Russia during the war in Ukraine are still held, UN estimates
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- United Nations estimates more than 16,000 Ukrainian civilians detained by Russia since the 2022 invasion remain "deprived of their liberty," many held incommunicado and on grounds that don't comply with international law, UN assistant secretary-general Claudia Fuentes Julio told the Security Council.
- UN monitors found that over 95% of Ukrainian POWs and 85% of civilian detainees reported being tortured or ill-treated, often repeatedly, including sexual violence, food deprivation, and inadequate medical care.
- The UN human rights office documented the execution of 129 Ukrainian POWs at the start of captivity and 48 deaths in custody from torture, denial of medical care, or other inhumane conditions.
- Former POW Khuan Leyva Garsiya testified he spent 1,183 days in Russian captivity, weighed 55 kilograms when freed, and described beatings, electrocution, sexual abuse, and the deaths of friends "returned in plastic bags."
- Crimean Tatar activist Leniie Umerova recounted being detained on "fabricated charges," released by court order, then re-detained with a bag over her head and moved through seven facilities over six months in what she called "a carousel of repression."
- UN interviewers also spoke with 816 Russian POWs, with about half reporting torture primarily during initial interrogation by Ukraine, though conditions in Ukrainian facilities "generally comply with international humanitarian law" and have improved since 2022.
- Russia's deputy UN Ambassador Maria Zabolotskaya called the meeting a "disinformation campaign against Russia" funded by NATO, claiming Russia's armed forces comply with international humanitarian law; Ukraine's deputy ambassador noted Russia refused to discuss returning its own POWs and civilian detainees, including abducted children.
Why it matters: With the UN unable to access Russian detention facilities, the 16,000-civilian figure is an estimate that almost certainly understates the true scope of detentions. The testimony places on the UN record specific, named accounts of execution-level abuse at a time when both Russia and Ukraine have escalated attacks, sharpening international pressure on a permanent Security Council member that denies access and dismisses the findings as disinformation.
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