Russia Uses 695 Forms of Torture against Ukrainian POWs; 406 Killed

It is understood that the United Nations Convention against Torture would and does prohibit all acts that intentionally inflict severe physical or mental suffering on detainees.

The international body, based on medical and human rights research, categorizes torture into two primary methods encompassing dozens of specific techniques: Physical Torture: Includes beatings and blunt-force trauma (the most frequently reported method globally), electrical torture, starvation, prolonged stress positions, suffocation (e.g., “waterboarding”), and sexual violence.

Psychological Torture: Includes sensory deprivation or overload, prolonged sleep deprivation, mock executions, solitary confinement, and intense threats of violence or death.

Tomás de Torquemada, the legendary Spanish grand inquisitor, would have been proud of his Russian descendants, who developed 695 forms of torture that they use against Ukrainian POWs.

Dmytro Lubinets, the Ukrainian Parliament Commissioner for Human Rights, has reported that Russia is using 695 different forms of torture against Ukrainian prisoners of war. Depraved Russians have already tortured 406 Ukrainian captives to death. The figures testify to the fact that the free world’s response has been lackadaisical.

Speaking at a presentation of the “Made in Russia. Delivered into Captivity” project, as cited by Ukrinform, Lubinets described the blood-curdling methods used by Russians to coerce Ukrainian POWs to reveal information or just to be frivolous targets of inhuman, brutal abuse.

“Today, within this project, we officially record that, according to our data, the Russian Federation uses 695 various forms of torture, including physical and psychological abuse, as well as sexual violence. Prisoners of war are strangled, beaten, subjected to electric shocks, set upon by dogs and sometimes forced to stand in one place for up to 18 hours; as soon as you start to squat, you are immediately physically beaten,” he said.

“One of the types of torture is the so-called ‘hairdresser,’ when during shaving they deliberately cut off not only hair but also pieces of skin from the scalp. If a person starts screaming, they are immediately beaten again and subjected to electric shocks."

United Nations bodies, Ukrainian human rights organizations, and Human Rights Watch have interviewed hundreds of former POWs, and the evidence indicates that their physical and psychological torture is a widespread pattern intended to break prisoners’ sense of self and human dignity. Russia is holding thousands of Ukrainian POWs in atrocious conditions, deprived of adequate food, medical care, and basic hygiene. 

“Russian authorities’ abhorrent systematic torture of Ukrainian prisoners of war is a serious violation of core protections under international humanitarian law,” said Holly Carter, deputy program director at Human Rights Watch. “POWs face daily life-threatening ordeals in Russian custody, and all those responsible for these atrocities should be held to account.”

Lubinets noted that poor detention conditions and torture are systematic with regard to Ukrainian prisoners of war. This includes unsanitary conditions and starvation used as a method of coercion. In total, 860 cases of improper detention conditions have been recorded.

Lubinets also noted that international partners have identified 29 detention sites, 18 on the territory of Russia and 11 in temporarily occupied areas of Ukraine. Meanwhile, he said, Ukrainian intelligence agencies have verified 186 locations where Ukrainian prisoners of war and civilian hostages are held, covering the entire territory of Russia and the temporarily occupied territories. In addition, detention facilities are located in Siberia. According to Lubinets, conditions in these places are almost identical and unsuitable for the civilized detention of prisoners.

The Ukrainian official also stated that Russian prison guards tortured to death 406 Ukrainian citizens who had confirmed prisoner-of-war status.

He stressed that the weak international response to the documented systematic torture signals to Russia that it can continue such actions with impunity. In particular, Lubinets criticized the position of the International Committee of the Red Cross: their representatives were invited to the event, but none attended.

“We sent them separate invitations. They are not in the hall. They do not want to once again hear that there is a problem with the fulfillment of their mandate. There is. We understand that first and foremost this is the position of the Russian Federation. But what additional steps are you taking to change this position? What? Just negotiations? They may yield results, but certainly not the ones we expect. As for the prisoners of war among the defenders of Mariupol: Olenivka – everyone knows that the Russians did it. Fifty-three men, verified by the ICRC as prisoners of war, were killed, more than 130 were injured. Where is the response? There is none. And there will be none unless we all understand that we must apply pressure now, demand accountability, and do everything to ensure that every representative of the Russian Federation is brought to justice,” Lubinets said.

Russian authorities allow only arbitrary and infrequent communication between POWs and their families, in some instances restricting it entirely. Families of POWs often did not know their whereabouts, or only found out by accident, often through Russian propaganda videos. 

Russia has systematically refused to grant international monitors access to Ukrainian POWs, preventing independent scrutiny of their conditions and treatment.

Torture of any kind against detainees—POW, civilian or otherwise—is strictly prohibited under international law and may constitute a crime against humanity. In October 2024, the UN Independent International Commission of Inquiry on Ukraine (COI) concluded that the Russian authorities in their actions against Ukrainian civilians in custody and POWs, “have acted pursuant to a coordinated state policy and have therefore committed crimes against humanity of torture.”

The Russian government should immediately end the use of torture and the ill-treatment of all Ukrainian detainees, release all unlawfully held Ukrainian civilians; and grant the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and independent human rights monitors immediate, unrestricted access to all detention sites holding Ukrainian POWs and civilians. Russian forces and authorities responsible for ordering, committing, or failing to prevent torture and ill-treatment should be investigated and prosecuted, the COI stated.

Next time you are about to shake hands with a Russian official or business partner, check for blood stains on their hands.

Russia’s Bombing of Kyiv Defies Morality and Its Desire for Peace

Russia’s ravenous desire to destroy Ukraine and annihilate all Ukrainians continues unabated. In the early morning hours of May 24 (local time), Russian cutthroat invaders launched nearly 90 Oreshnik-type IRBMs and upwards of 600 drones, according to Ukrainian and non-Ukrainian news media.

The missiles were air, sea, and ground-launched rockets, Ukraine’s Air Force clarified. Ukrainian air defenses destroyed and jammed 549 drones and 55 missiles. Some 19 missiles failed to reach targets, the Air Force said.

Oreshnik missiles are equipped with six conventional or nuclear-capable warheads, each capable of deploying multiple submunitions.

Local residents, including our contacts, described the latest wave of Russian bombings as a hellish night of terror with unceasing explosions heard throughout the Kyiv oblast. It was one of the most massive attacks against civilian targets such as residential buildings and civil infrastructures, perpetrated by a deranged enemy.

“They are genuinely deranged,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy posted on Telegram.

Adding further details on Sunday, Zelenskyy wrote on X that at least 83 people had been confirmed injured since midnight, with some fatalities as a result of the Russian attack, which he said had hit Kyiv the hardest.

Zelenskyy described the “heavy attack” targeting Kyiv that involved 600 drones and 90 missiles of various kinds, 36 of which were ballistic ones. “Unfortunately, not all of the ballistic missiles were intercepted – the largest number of hits was in Kyiv. Kyiv was the primary target of this Russian attack,” he wrote on X.

Zelenskyy said the Russians have used Oreshniks against Ukraine three times in the four-year war.

“It is important that this does not pass without consequences for Russia,” said Vitali Klitschko, Kyiv’s mayor, adding that two people had been killed in the capital and 56 wounded, while the head of the surrounding Kyiv region said two people had also been killed there, and nine wounded, based on preliminary estimates.

Klitschko said damage had been recorded in every district of Kyiv, adding that an attack on a school had started a fire and another on a business center had led to people being trapped in a shelter.

Ukraine’s Foreign Ministry was damaged for the first time since the Second World War, Andrii Sybiha, the Foreign Minister, said. The historic building with “unique architectural heritage” had been lightly damaged as a result of nearby explosions, he said.
Russian strikes had “targeted a historic area,” Sybiha added. “Yet another proof we are dealing with hordes of barbarians, not the heirs of civilization.”

Ukraine’s government headquarters were also damaged, with windows blown out, but no one was injured, said Prime Minister Yulia Svyrydenko.

A school building was damaged by an attack while people sheltered inside, Klitschko said. Local authorities reported supermarkets and warehouses across the city were also damaged.

While the damage and human losses are still being assessed, local authorities said two civilians were killed and 81 injured, including three children.

Explosions were also heard in Kharkiv, Dnipropetrovsk, Kherson, and Zaporizhzhia regions.

Kharkiv Regional Military Administration Head Oleh Syniehubov confirmed that Russian drone operators deployed tactical devices directly into a civilian residential sector during the early morning hours.

Global leaders and foreign ministers have issued a wave of condemnations following Russia’s massive, multi-vector missile and drone offensive against Kyiv on May 24. Western allies, including Canada, Finland, Moldova, and the Baltic states, explicitly categorized the targeting of residential high-rises and cultural hubs as war crimes and acts of state terrorism.

The White House has again been silent on this latest Russian crime against Ukraine.

Ferit Hoxha, Albania’s Foreign Minister, reported that the residence of the Albanian ambassador to Ukraine was hit during the attack, denouncing it as “unacceptable” and a “grave escalation.”

EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Kaja Kallas publicly rebuked Russia’s early morning deployment of an RS-26 Oreshnik medium-range ballistic missile against the city of Bila Tserkva, characterizing the strike as a reckless gamble that invites the risk of nuclear war. Kallas stated that Moscow’s reliance on nuclear-capable delivery platforms to terrorize urban centers reveals a battlefield deadlock, framing the operation as a deliberate tactic of political intimidation aimed at causing maximum civilian casualties.

“Russia does not attack cities like this because it wants peace.” Belgian Minister for Foreign Affairs Maxime Prévot condemned the latest heavy attack by Russia on Kyiv and other places in Ukraine.

“Last night, Kyiv was the main target of a massive Russian strike. Missiles and drones hit homes, schools, a market, and essential infrastructure... Whatever narrative Russia may put forward, the facts remain clear: civilians were struck, residential areas were hit, and there is no justification for attacks that terrorize an entire population. The reported use of an Oreshnik missile is another chilling signal. These weapons are designed not only to destroy, but to intimidate, exhaust, and break the spirit of a nation,” observed Prévot.

Emmanuel Macron, the French president, condemned the attacks, including the use of the Oreshnik missile, which he said signaled “the dead end of Russia’s war of aggression.”

Responding to the latest strikes on Ukraine, Kallas added: “Russia hit a dead end on the battlefield, so it terrorizes Ukraine with deliberate strikes on city centers. These are abhorrent acts of terror meant to kill as many civilians as possible.”

The latest Russian bombardment also destroyed or damaged Ukrainian cultural artifacts. Buildings housing a theatre, a philharmonic hall, two museums, a library, universities, a church, a monastery, and architectural landmarks were damaged in Kyiv.

"Experts and relevant services are currently documenting all the consequences of the attack and assessing the scale of the destruction. Russia systematically targets culture and spaces that shape Ukrainian identity. They are trying to destroy our memory. But Ukrainian culture has endured before and will endure now,” said Culture Minister Tetiana Berezhna. Aquinas Institute of Religious Studies in Kyiv was also struck, the Rev. Jaroslaw Krawiec reported.

Russian forces also almost destroyed the National Chornobyl Museum, on the 40th anniversary of the Russian-instigated nuclear catastrophe north of Kyiv.

Ukraine’s National Art Museum, housing one of the country’s largest and most important collections, was also damaged in the blast, the culture ministry said, posting images of damaged ceilings, broken windows, shattered glass, and debris scattered across floors and staircases.

International expressions of shock and condemnation, as welcome as they are, merely testify to the humanity of the global community of supporters of Ukraine. It doesn’t secure Ukraine from additional bloody waves of Russian bombardments.

Indeed, Ukraine, the nation and its President Zelenskyy shouldn’t descend to Moscow’s level or depravity, callousness, and inhumanity in dealing with enemies and adversaries. However, how much can or should Ukrainians tolerate? How many tears should mothers shed over the bodies of their dead children? I daresay that they have suffered more than a few lifetimes due to Russia’s uncontrolled terrorism and atrocities committed in the course of a war that Russia launched, but now it can’t win.

Destroying evil, destroying an enemy before it returns to kill you, your family, your children is universally tolerated and acceptable.