Since the beginning of the unprovoked aggression of the Russian Federation against Ukraine, approximately 13,500 warriors of the Armed Forces of Ukraine have been reported as detained, although the exact number is not available to date. The Russian Federation systematically neglects its duties and obligations under the international instruments to which it is a party (namely, Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War (Geneva Convention III, GCIII) to inform the opposing party about the detention of the prisoners of war (hereinafter, PoWs). Moreover, according to numerous reports, a lot of Ukrainian warriors have not been duly registered as PoWs and have been placed in the detention facilities in Russia and occupied territories of Ukraine as civilians. Therefore, the exact number of the Ukrainian PoWs in Russian captivity is still unavailable.

The majority of reports, articles and research related to the PoWs and violation of their rights by the Russian Federation and its representatives are based on the major violations of the PoWs’ key rights such as the right to life and physical inviolability, infringed by Russian authorized personnel through arbitrary killings and torture of PoWs. Another type of such surveys are the general reports and researches prepared by the distinguished international organizations such as the Organization for the Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE)1, Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR)2 etc. covering the situation overall. The purpose of this particular research is to provide a more extensive and comprehensive look at one type of the gross violations of the international humanitarian law (IHL) and international human rights law (IHRL) being committed by the Russian state and Russian authorized representatives — violation of the PoWs’ rights to proper medical attention and corresponding requirements to the detaining state on ensuring such rights.

Breaches of these rights are not committed through such visible and obviously devastating forms for external observers as deprivation of life and torture, however, consequences of them are no less essential for PoWs- deaths, mutilations, irreversible damage to health, fundamental physical and psychological traumas. Even PoWs who were fortunate to return back home alive are currently struggling to go through long and complicated physical and psychological rehabilitation and not all of them will be able to complete it or to the level of physical and mental health they had before detention. Thus, Russian violations against PoWs regarding the right to health and proper medical attention are not just breaches of the specific provisions of the GCIII or of the 1977 Additional Protocol to the Geneva Conventions but are also targeted and streamlined efforts to deprive Ukraine of the part of its most active and conscious population and even if kept alive and returned, isolating it from normal and active civic life in Ukraine afterwards. Therefore, the analysis and spreading of actual and statistical information, its legal qualification as breach of the IHL and IHRL as well as of the international crime with an emphasis on possible criminal liability for its commission, is a matter of the great importance for Ukrainian domestic circles and even more for the Ukrainian partners, international stakeholders and decisionmakers is essential.

The key aim of this research is to draw the attention of the EU authorities and other international stakeholders to the facts of gross violations of the Ukrainian PoWs’ rights and Russia’s obligations under the IHL instruments to which it is still a party and to make it contribute to the mechanism of bringing Russia to liability through strengthening the sanctions’ mechanism as well as not to allow the burial of the proceedings on bringing offenders against PoWs to due criminal liability.

This research was conducted based on collecting, processing and systematizing information from different sources such as:

• Interviews: 8 PoWs who successfully returned home have been interviewed and provided rather detailed information about their own experience and events they witnessed and which was related to information on violations of PoWs’ rights to medical treatment in places of captivity. The selection of interviewees was based on their professional background — 100% of the interviewed PoWs are educated doctors and served as military medical personnel before being captured. Moreover, they used to provide medical assistance during the captivity as well. Therefore, this group of interviewees provided the most detailed possible and professional qualification of personnel’s actions and omission in places of detention and their consequences. Another group of interviewees is represented by experts who are engaged in medical, physical and psychological rehabilitation of PoWs who returned from captivity. Such specialists provide general information regarding traumas, physical and psychological health implications etc. which makes it possible to form the picture and statistical data. These interviews were conducted with M.T., head of the National Program of Rehabilitation “Unburned”, T.S., deputy head of the Center of Psychological Health and Rehabilitation “Lisova Poliana”.
• External sources of information: Other general reports, studies of international organizations and experts, media articles and journalist investigations related to PoW-related issues as well as sources of information they are referring to (when available) have been thoroughly studied and processed with a focus on medical treatment angle.
• Legal analysis Actions and omissions of Russian military and civil personnel regarding Ukrainian PoWs, conditions in places of captivity have been analysed through the lens of violation of the IHL and IHRL taking into account the comments of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). Such violations have also been analysed based on the presence of elements of international crimes under Article 8 of the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC). The case law of the international criminal tribunals such as International Criminal Tribunal on the Former Yugoslavia (ICTY), International Criminal Tribunal on Rwanda (ICTR) and ICC has also been analysed to show the possibility, precedents and practical aspects of bringing to criminal liability for crimes against PoWs.