Report on Possible Violations and Abuses of International Humanitarian and Human Rights Law, War Crimes and Crimes Against Humanity, Related to the Treatment of Ukrainian POWs
by the Russian Federation
Source: OSCE
On 24 July 2025, 41 OSCE participating States, after consultation with Ukraine, invoked the Moscow Mechanism under paragraph 8 of the Moscow Document. They requested that the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) enquire with Ukraine whether it would invite a mission of experts to address the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) by the Russian Federation. Ukraine established, on 15 August 2025, a mission composed of three experts – Prof. Hervé Ascensio (France), Prof. Veronika Bílková (Czech Republic) and Prof. Mark Klamberg (Sweden). The Mission was tasked to investigate the treatment of Ukrainian POWs by the Russian Federation and to examine possible violations of OSCE commitments, international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL), including possible cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to this treatment. Its mandate included collecting, consolidating and analysing information to identify patterns of widespread and systematic torture, ill-treatment and execution of Ukrainian POWs and soldiers hors de combat (out of combat), whether in the territory of the Russian Federation or in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and providing recommendations for accountability. The Mission faced significant challenges due to the Russian Federation’s lack of transparency and non-cooperation with the Mission. Ukrainian POWs are held across multiple sites in the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which remain largely inaccessible. Despite these constraints, estimates indicate that at least 13,500 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been detained since February 2022. Of these, approximately 169 have died in captivity, nearly 6,800 have been released and repatriated, and an estimated 6,300 remain in detention.
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Source: OSCE
On 24 July 2025, 41 OSCE participating States, after consultation with Ukraine, invoked the Moscow Mechanism under paragraph 8 of the Moscow Document. They requested that the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) enquire with Ukraine whether it would invite a mission of experts to address the treatment of Ukrainian prisoners of war (POWs) by the Russian Federation. Ukraine established, on 15 August 2025, a mission composed of three experts – Prof. Hervé Ascensio (France), Prof. Veronika Bílková (Czech Republic) and Prof. Mark Klamberg (Sweden). The Mission was tasked to investigate the treatment of Ukrainian POWs by the Russian Federation and to examine possible violations of OSCE commitments, international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL), including possible cases of war crimes and crimes against humanity related to this treatment. Its mandate included collecting, consolidating and analysing information to identify patterns of widespread and systematic torture, ill-treatment and execution of Ukrainian POWs and soldiers hors de combat (out of combat), whether in the territory of the Russian Federation or in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, and providing recommendations for accountability. The Mission faced significant challenges due to the Russian Federation’s lack of transparency and non-cooperation with the Mission. Ukrainian POWs are held across multiple sites in the Russian Federation and the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine, which remain largely inaccessible. Despite these constraints, estimates indicate that at least 13,500 members of the Ukrainian Armed Forces have been detained since February 2022. Of these, approximately 169 have died in captivity, nearly 6,800 have been released and repatriated, and an estimated 6,300 remain in detention.
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