From February 24, 2022, to the end of October 2024, Ukraine received back 184 bodies of Ukrainian individuals who died in captivity, including 169 military personnel and 15 civilians, reports the Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) citing the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War.
"From February 24, 2022, to the end of October 2024, Ukraine has received back 184 bodies of Ukrainians who died in captivity. Among them are 169 military personnel and 15 civilians. This information was provided to the Media Initiative for Human Rights by the Coordination Headquarters for the Treatment of Prisoners of War. At the same time, we believe that the number of deceased captives is significantly higher," the MIHR stated in a message on their website on Monday.
It is also noted that among the 169 bodies of military personnel who died in captivity and were returned to Ukraine, 55 were those who perished due to explosions at the Olenivka colony.
Since February 24, 2022, the MIHR has documented testimonies from 122 defenders of Ukraine who were held in Russian captivity. The collected testimonies describe systematic torture, isolation from the outside world, and denial of proper medical care. As a result, Ukrainian captives critically lose weight and suffer severe injuries. MIHR documenters have also gathered numerous accounts of the deaths of prisoners of war in places of captivity, primarily caused by torture.
"There are still many defenders in Russian captivity who have been there since the first months of the large-scale war, meaning for over 30 months. Russia does not allow representatives of monitoring missions, including the International Committee of the Red Cross, to access them, nor does it inform Ukraine about the deterioration of their health or the deaths of captives. All of this constitutes serious violations of the Geneva Conventions," the MIHR message states.
The Media Initiative for Human Rights (MIHR) was established in 2016 with the aim of conducting journalistic investigations into human rights violations. Currently, MIHR is documenting human rights violations in connection with Russia's armed aggression.