Posted on Jul 4, 2022
Ukrainians taken captive by Russia say they were held in brutal conditions: ‘Everyone was beaten’...
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Torture, beatings and neglect: Ukrainian service members captured during Russia’s invasion may be lucky to be back home alive, but their physical and emotional scars could plague them for years.
One such soldier is Mykhaylo, 20, who said he hadn’t finished his military training when attack helicopters swarmed Hostomel airport near the nation’s capital, Kyiv, where he was preparing to be deployed. It was Feb. 25, the day after Russia invaded.
After an intense battle, he said his fighting group had little choice but to surrender and he was taken captive. He told NBC News that he and his comrades were held in a few locations around the airport before being transferred to a bomb shelter in a fire station. He was held with both military personnel and civilians, 34 people in total, he said. The oldest prisoner was a 70-year-old man, who had been taken captive after he admitted to having military identification, he said.
One such soldier is Mykhaylo, 20, who said he hadn’t finished his military training when attack helicopters swarmed Hostomel airport near the nation’s capital, Kyiv, where he was preparing to be deployed. It was Feb. 25, the day after Russia invaded.
After an intense battle, he said his fighting group had little choice but to surrender and he was taken captive. He told NBC News that he and his comrades were held in a few locations around the airport before being transferred to a bomb shelter in a fire station. He was held with both military personnel and civilians, 34 people in total, he said. The oldest prisoner was a 70-year-old man, who had been taken captive after he admitted to having military identification, he said.
Ukrainians taken captive by Russia say they were held in brutal conditions: ‘Everyone was beaten’...
Posted from nbcnews.com
Ukraine
Russia
Torture
Posted 2 y ago
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
..."International law provides protection for prisoners of war, with the Geneva Conventions decreeing that they must be treated humanely, protected against acts of violence, as well as intimidation and insults. The detaining power is also required to supply prisoners of war who are being evacuated with sufficient food and water, and with the necessary clothing and medical attention.
Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations of mistreatment of captured Ukrainian soldiers.
Olena Vysotska, Ukraine’s deputy justice minister, said that prisoner exchanges have taken place once or twice a month.
“We are very interested in such swaps, because we are very focused on the saving of lives of our military. Sometimes the people swapped are civilians, because the war is going on in our territory,” she said.
Both Mykhaylo and Stryzhko were freed in late April.
After being flown to a military airfield in Crimea, 18 days after he was transferred to Russia, Stryzhko said he was told he was going to be swapped before he was crudely loaded onto a military truck and taken to a hospital in Zaporizhzhia under Ukrainian control.
“The driver of this truck came, knocked my chest and told us, ‘Relax guys now — you are in Ukraine,’” he said. “And at this moment, I started crying. I was very happy.”
..."International law provides protection for prisoners of war, with the Geneva Conventions decreeing that they must be treated humanely, protected against acts of violence, as well as intimidation and insults. The detaining power is also required to supply prisoners of war who are being evacuated with sufficient food and water, and with the necessary clothing and medical attention.
Russia’s Defense Ministry did not respond to a request for comment about the allegations of mistreatment of captured Ukrainian soldiers.
Olena Vysotska, Ukraine’s deputy justice minister, said that prisoner exchanges have taken place once or twice a month.
“We are very interested in such swaps, because we are very focused on the saving of lives of our military. Sometimes the people swapped are civilians, because the war is going on in our territory,” she said.
Both Mykhaylo and Stryzhko were freed in late April.
After being flown to a military airfield in Crimea, 18 days after he was transferred to Russia, Stryzhko said he was told he was going to be swapped before he was crudely loaded onto a military truck and taken to a hospital in Zaporizhzhia under Ukrainian control.
“The driver of this truck came, knocked my chest and told us, ‘Relax guys now — you are in Ukraine,’” he said. “And at this moment, I started crying. I was very happy.”
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