Ukrainian officials and former detainees have detailed widespread and systematic torture and abuse by Russian forces during their captivity, according to testimony presented at an informal U.N. Security Council session on Monday. Multiple ex-detainees and representatives of the Ukrainian government described how prisoners of war and civilians were subjected to brutal treatment, including beatings, electric shocks, sexual abuse, and even execution, while being held incommunicado in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions. Thousands of Ukrainians remain in Russian custody, according to official estimates. Khuan Alberto Levya Garsiya, a Ukrainian military officer captured by Russian forces, recounted enduring nearly every conceivable form of torture during his 1,183 days in captivity. He described being beaten, subjected to electric shocks, forced to perform excessive exercises in subzero temperatures, and exposed to sexual abuse. Garsiya claimed that two of his fellow prisoners were killed by beatings in detention centers in the Donetsk region. He also noted that prisoners were kept in overcrowded barracks without proper sanitation, leading to widespread illness and starvation. Garsiya, whose father is Cuban, stated that Russian guards specifically targeted him due to his Latino-sounding name, falsely accusing him of being a “mercenary and an American spy.” Crimean Tatar activist Leniie Umerova, who was released in a prisoner exchange in 2024, described her experience of being detained while attempting to visit her seriously ill father in Crimea. She spoke of being transferred through seven different detention facilities, which she characterized as part of a “carousel of repression.” Umerova alleged that Russia used torture against Ukrainian detainees, including psychological and physical abuse, to extract information or punish perceived dissent. Oleg Gushin of the Ukrainian government’s Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War confirmed that Ukrainian prisoners were “killed and tortured” in Russian detention. He stated that Kyiv had identified more than 300 locations where Ukrainians were held captive, both within Russia and in occupied Ukrainian territories. According to Gushin, over 9,000 Ukrainians have been returned through prisoner exchanges, though thousands remain in Russian hands. Ukraine’s Chargé d’Affaires, Volodymyr Pavlichenko, urged the international community to exert greater pressure on Russia regarding its treatment of prisoners. He emphasized the need for accountability and transparency concerning the suffering endured by Ukrainian captives. The U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights, Claudia Fuentes Julio, highlighted findings from U.N. monitoring efforts indicating that the Russian Federation continued to engage in “widespread and systematic torture and ill-treatment” of Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian detainees. These abuses included sexual violence, such as rape, gang rape, and genital assault, as well as beatings with objects like batons and heavy belts, electric shocks, and mock executions. Fuentes Julio cited documentation of 129 Ukrainian prisoners executed at the start of their captivity and 48 deaths in custody since February 2022, attributed to torture, lack of medical care, or inhumane detention conditions. Over 95% of Ukrainian prisoners of war interviewed by the U.N. reported experiencing torture or ill-treatment, with more than half reporting instances of sexual violence. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has documented these abuses, providing evidence of the severity and scale of the violations committed against Ukrainian detainees.
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