All articles tagged with #prisoner of war
Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro, after being abducted by US special forces, appeared in court claiming he is a 'prisoner of war,' highlighting the complex legal and political implications of his detention amid US accusations of narcoterrorism and broader geopolitical tensions.
A British man, Hayden Davies, who fought with Ukraine's foreign legion, was sentenced to 13 years in a Russian prison after being captured in Ukraine's Donbas region, with the UK government condemning the charges as false and emphasizing his status as a prisoner of war.
A Ukrainian court sentenced a Russian soldier to life in prison for deliberately killing a Ukrainian prisoner of war, marking the first such sentence in an unprecedented trial. The soldier, Dmitry Kurashov, was found guilty of shooting a surrendered Ukrainian soldier in 2024, with evidence indicating he acted under orders from his commanders. The trial highlighted issues of war crimes and the treatment of prisoners in the ongoing conflict between Russia and Ukraine.
A Ukrainian court has sentenced Russian soldier Dmitry Kurashov to life in prison for executing a surrendered Ukrainian soldier, marking the first such life sentence for a Russian serviceman in Ukraine's history. The case highlights ongoing violations of the Geneva Conventions by Russian forces, including the execution of Ukrainian prisoners of war and widespread abuse.
Yaroslava Ivantsova and her husband, Ukrainian soldier Mykola Ivantsov, reunite in a Kyiv hospital after he was held as a prisoner of war by Russian forces. Their story highlights the personal impact of the ongoing conflict, which has lasted over a thousand days since Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine, affecting millions of lives.
A 24-year-old Ukrainian policewoman, Maryana Checheliuk, has returned home after two years of severe mistreatment in Russian captivity. Captured during the siege of Mariupol's Azovstal steel works, she endured starvation, beatings, and abuse. Her health deteriorated significantly during her imprisonment. She was released in a prisoner exchange and reunited with her family, who had been anxiously awaiting her return.
Russian President Putin claims that a Ukrainian military transport plane carrying prisoners of war was shot down by Ukraine, but Ukrainian officials deny the allegation, stating that there is no evidence to support Russia's claim. Russia provided a list of the POWs who allegedly died in the crash, but Ukrainian authorities say that relatives were unable to identify their loved ones in crash site photos. Ukraine has neither confirmed nor denied shooting down the plane, and President Zelenskyy has called for an international investigation into the crash, though Russia remains in sole control of the crash site.
Ukraine claims that senior Russian officials were stopped from boarding the military plane that crashed, killing around 65 Ukrainian prisoners of war. Russia blames Ukraine for downing the plane, but Ukraine denies this and suggests that Russia may have been using the prisoners as human shields. Gruesome new video shows charred human remains at the crash site, and there are conflicting claims about warnings and requests regarding the airspace where the plane was downed. Ukraine's human rights commissioner believes the incident was a planned Russian "false flag" plot.
A Russian lawmaker claims that Ukraine was given a 15-minute warning before a Russian military transport plane carrying Ukrainian prisoners of war was shot down, a claim denied by Ukraine, which has called for an international investigation. The incident, which resulted in the deaths of 74 people, including 65 captured Ukrainian soldiers, has sparked conflicting narratives from both sides, with Ukraine accusing Russia of playing with the lives of Ukrainian prisoners and calling for international scrutiny. Russia has sole access to the crash site and has called for a UN Security Council meeting to establish the reasons behind the incident.
A Ukrainian soldier captured by Russian forces during the battle of Bakhmut has revealed that instead of interrogating him for information, he was tortured for fun. The soldier described the experience as being played with "the way a cat plays with a mouse." He also disclosed that his arms were crudely amputated above the elbows by the Wagner Group, who were composed of mercenaries, convicted killers, and former prisoners. The group, financed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, has been accused of perpetrating violent attacks and killings. This incident adds to the reports of war crimes committed by Russian forces during the invasion of Ukraine.
Illia Mykhalchuk, a Ukrainian soldier, endured a 46-day nightmare as a prisoner of the Wagner Group, Russia's contract army. Captured during an ambush, Mykhalchuk suffered severe injuries, including the amputation of both arms. He described the barbarism and psychological abuse inflicted by his captors, who aimed to break the will of Ukrainian soldiers. After being freed in a prisoner exchange, Mykhalchuk is now in the United States for intensive rehabilitation and the fitting of advanced prosthetics. The cost of his prosthetic arms alone is valued at $200,000.
A Russian soldier captured in eastern Ukraine provides a rare account of the invasion from a Russian perspective, revealing his recruitment from prison to join a Russian military unit filled with inmates. He describes being deceived about the nature of his mission, forced to dig trenches, and sent to the front line without proper training or equipment. The soldier's testimony sheds light on the experiences of prisoners of war and the tactics used by the Russian forces in the Ukrainian conflict.
A Russian soldier, Ruslan Anitin, surrendered to Ukrainian drones after his entire unit was taken out by drone and mortar attacks near Bakhmut. Anitin used hand signals to communicate with the Ukrainian drone pilots, who guided him across enemy lines. An assault drone had already been sent out to kill Anitin, but when the drone’s pilot saw the high-definition images of Anitin begging for his life, he decided to abort the mission. Anitin was eventually captured by Ukrainian forces and expressed a desire to return to Russia, even if it means going to jail.
A Russian soldier was fired upon by his own side as he tried to surrender to a Ukrainian drone in Bakhmut, according to a Ukrainian official. The footage, taken by the Code 9.2 unit of Ukraine's 92nd Mechanized Brigade, shows the soldier making his way through explosions and trenches before approaching a dugout with his hands raised. The soldier, from the Pskov region in western Russia, is now a prisoner of war. The encounter is an example of how "Ukrainian soldiers find such creative ways to defeat Russians on the battlefield," said the official.
Victoria Andrusha, a Ukrainian teacher, was taken prisoner by Russian troops for providing her friends with the location of Russian positions and the direction of supplies and vehicles. During her five-month captivity, she was beaten, humiliated, and threatened with rape and mutilation. Despite this, she managed to keep seeing light at the end of the tunnel and returned home as a person, not a vegetable. She now teaches math problems to her young students in Kyiv and feels empathy for her kidnappers, who she believes are zombified due to a lack of overall information.