Why Aren’t the Russians Releasing Ukrainian Civilians?

There are at least 15,000 Ukrainian civilians illegally detained or abducted in the temporarily occupied territory (TOT) of Ukraine, held in detention facilities in Russia and the TOT. They are held in custody for “opposing the special military operation” (SMO), an unjustified charge, since no such offense exists under Russian criminal or administrative law. And they essentially have almost no chance of being released.

As of the start of this year, approximately 7,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war were held in Russia. Russia does not view them as prisoners of war; they have also been officially deprived of their freedom “for opposing the SMO.” Following two prisoner exchanges this year, in which 660 prisoners of war were returned, the number of our prisoners of war has decreased to approximately 6,500. During these two exchanges, nine civilians were freed; we have no further details about them.

Some of our prisoners of war and civilians were convicted of general criminal charges such as murder, bodily harm, terrorism, espionage, and others. There are about 3,000 of these inmates. They are held in detention facilities alongside Russian convicts and are becoming more “visible.” Generally, their locations can be identified, although the Russians try to hide them, especially the civilians. After sentencing, they acquire the corresponding legal status, including all its consequences: their names are listed in the databases of the Federal Penitentiary Service of the Russian Federation; they can receive letters, parcels, funds transferred to their personal accounts from relatives, and care packages, depending on the prison regime. They might even be permitted visits from loved ones if those relatives venture to travel to Russia. A lawyer might visit convicted Ukrainians if there’s an agreement with their family.

But most inmates who haven’t been legally convicted—both military personnel and civilians—are kept incommunicado, with no contact from the outside world. Most of them are regularly subjected to torture and different forms of abuse. And while prisoners of war can still hope to be released through an exchange, civilians have almost no chance of being freed in this way.

Both parties refuse to exchange military personnel for civilians. The Ukrainian side finds it difficult to swap civilians because the Russians are very hesitant to agree. As part of the “I Want to Be with My People” Coordination Headquarters project, only 70 Ukrainian civilian political prisoners in Russia have been released. The same number of inmates who committed crimes against national security were also released in Ukraine. Meanwhile, 800 men and women in this category of inmates in Ukrainian detention facilities expressed a desire to live in Russia. But Russia refuses to accept them. In other words, Russia doesn’t follow its motto, “we don’t abandon our own."

The situation of women prisoners is especially critical. Out of the 3,206 prisoners exchanged last year, only six were women; this year, there were none. Russia is holding approximately 30 Ukrainian female military personnel captive, while there are no captured Russian female military personnel in Ukraine. The Ukrainian authorities have tried to swap Russian male soldiers for Ukrainian servicewomen, but the Russians refuse. Our data shows there are at least 287 Ukrainian civilian women in captivity, and no mechanisms are in sight for their release.

It should be emphasized that Ukrainian civilians are being held captive without any legal basis, and the only proper solution is their release without any preconditions. Russian court verdicts are unreliable because defendants’ testimonies were obtained through torture, the right to defense was effectively ignored, and there were no acquittals.

Russia has effectively created a secret, illegal system to deprive Ukrainians of their freedom and hold them in detention, which is governed by secret decrees issued by the President of the Russian Federation. It can be assumed that these decrees specify who has the authority to deprive individuals of their liberty and how custodial detention is implemented.

The worldwide community must be conscious of this reality. The only solution is for all states to work together to pressure Russia into releasing all individuals it is unlawfully detaining.