The harrowing reality of being a prisoner of war in Russia - London Business News | Londonlovesbusiness.com

"Human rights investigations throughout the war have repeatedly documented evidence of abuse in Russian-run detention centres. Certainly, from my own captivity, electrocution, beatings and starvation were used frequently. For 60 days, I was kept in a 1×3 isolation cell with no window, lights on 24 hours a day, and heavy metal music blaring, partly to disguise screams and the sound of incoming and outgoing artillery fire."

"The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission previously reported that the majority of interviewed Ukrainian prisoners described being subjected to torture or ill-treatment, including beatings, electric shocks, threats of execution and other forms of coercion."

"Survivor accounts gathered over the past three years describe a system designed not simply to interrogate prisoners but to break them psychologically. Now, new allegations circulating following the latest exchange suggest the abuse may have continued until the very end."

Ukraine and Russia completed one of the largest prisoner exchanges of the year, returning approximately 500 prisoners to each side. While these exchanges provide humanitarian relief for families separated for years, particularly soldiers captured during the 2022 Mariupol siege, emerging testimony from released prisoners documents severe abuse in Russian detention facilities. Survivors report systematic torture including electrocution, beatings, starvation, and psychological torment through isolation and sensory deprivation. The United Nations Human Rights Monitoring Mission confirmed that most interviewed Ukrainian prisoners experienced torture or ill-treatment. Evidence suggests abuse continued throughout captivity and potentially until the moment of exchange, indicating a deliberate system designed to break prisoners psychologically rather than simply interrogate them.

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