and are usually just waiting for a prisoner exchange. WebCNN's Nick Paton Walsh investigates Russia's use of prisoners to fight the war in Ukraine. The OHCHRs Ukraine-based monitoring teams findings were based on interviews with more than 100 prisoners of war (POWs) on each side of the war, which will soon drag into its ninth month. In three days at the front south of Bakhmut, Private Sergei first served as a stretcher bearer, carrying out mangled, bloody former prisoners who had been killed or wounded in an omen of what awaited him when ordered to join an assault. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Ukrainian prisoners described so-called "admission procedures" upon arrival at the place of internment, which involved prolonged beatings, strangling, twisting or breaking of joints or bones, attacks by dog, tasering, mock executions, sexual violence, stripping and use of stress positions. He was captured on his first human wave assault. Even if you've got 20 years left on your sentence, if you come with [Wagner Group for] six months, you will be free. [107][102] The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) considers the number of civilian casualties to be considerably higher than the one the United Nations are able to certify. [Alexei Navalny's] team did a series of investigations into Prigozhin and into how he was winning these government contracts, back in 2015, 2016. Mediazona added that "the real toll is likely in the tens of thousands. ", "How many Russian soldiers have died in the war in Ukraine? Only when we were already on Ukrainian territory and saw the signs and flags did we realize where we were,"he says. ANKARA Over 2,000 prisoners have been exchanged between Russia and Ukraine since the start of the war on Feb. 24 last year, according to figures compiled by Anadolu. Ukraine struggles to return its defenders. Russia is recruiting young Palestinians and Syrians for the war against Ukraine. TUSCALOOSA, Ala. . Russia has already sent approximately 300 persons to the combat zone, as reported by The Media Line (TML) and the Telegram channel of Radio Liberty. He's not sugarcoating this at all. According to the meal plan posted in the hallway, food is served three times a day. [110] Most victims among children were from the Donetsk region. Dead foreign fighters of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, Captured foreign fighters of the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, The number of Ukrainian soldiers killed includes the deaths of two servicemen during the. (Editor's note: This is the official Kremlin term for Russia's war against Ukraine. CNN's Nick Paton Walsh investigates Russia's use of prisoners to fight the war in Ukraine. In addition, 8 percent (1,214) of Russian soldiers whose deaths had been confirmed were people who were mobilized, while 8.7 percent (1,310) were convicts. The following table does not include the 298 deaths from the shootdown of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 or the deaths of Ukrainian servicemen, which are listed separately. Its effective. Also in the same month, the General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine (UAF) said the Russian military began recruiting sick and injured people from hospitals to replace the people it lost in the war. 24.02.2023, 11:02. Show Transcript. DW spoke with prisoner Oleg from Karelia in private in a separate room. "When we came to the villages, people told us bluntly: 'Get out! AP WebWith Putin's blessing, the Wagner Group has recruited inmates from Russian prisons to fight in the war in Ukraine promising a pardon if they survive six months on the battlefield. This is not a particularly well-educated or cultured guy. Olga Maltseva/AFP via Getty Images There have been two prisoner exchanges since Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy came to power in May 2019 -- one in September and the other in late December. NATO: Finland forges ahead of Sweden toward membership, Ukraine updates: Zelenskyy calls for ICC Russia probe, Russian troops step up fight to cut off Bakhmut supply lines. In preparing the report, investigators conducted 159 interviews over the course of eight months. When I came to this war, I thought it was worth it, he said. One of the soldiers died heroically on the battlefield. Skip to search results. ", Asked why he went to Ukraine, Artyom says: "On television, they tell us that we are supposedly fighting for a good causebut in reality that is not the case at all. So it's clear that Prigozhin has the authority to do this. These orders were common, so our losses were gigantic, Sergei said. And what do they think of the war? They said their treatment was not only used to coerce them to give military information or statements about alleged crimes but to intimidate and humiliate them on a daily basis. It was only here that I realized that.". [7] On 10 August 2016, Russia accused the Special Forces of Ukraine of conducting a raid near the Crimean town of Armiansk which killed two Russian servicemen. ), He responded toan online advertisement he came across and was sent to Donetsk, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists. Walker reports that Prigozhin has become a wealthy man and an increasingly visible political actor within Russia, clashing publicly with Russian military leaders. Russia has already sent approximately 300 persons to the combat zone, as reported by The Media This article was originally written in Russian, Mariupol prisoners give Russia 'a lot of leverage': DW's Mathias Blinger. Global Business and Financial News, Stock Quotes, and Market Data and Analysis. Matilda Bogner, Head of the UNs human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, said that, over the past few months, her team had interviewed 159 prisoners of war or POWs - both men and women, held by Russia, and 175 male prisoners of war held by Ukraine. Ukrainian marine servicemen stand on a street in front of the residential building which was heavily bombed by Russian forces, in the frontline city of Vuhledar, Ukraine. Russia did not, so interviews were conducted with Ukrainian POWs when they were released. Russia-Ukraine War: Volodymyr Zelenskyy has expressed a desire to meet Xi Jinping to discuss the 12-point peace proposal put forth by China to stop the Russia-Ukraine war. [23] Subsequently, the military did not publish new figures on their non-combat losses, stating they could be considered a state secret.[24]. [366][367] Subsequently, the first large prisoner exchange took place on 24 March, when 10 Russian and 10 Ukrainian soldiers, as well as 11 Russian and 19 Ukrainian civilian sailors, were exchanged. There is also evidence that Ukrainian POWs in Russia and in Russian-controlled areas of Ukraine are being tortured immediately after their capture, Bogner said: "There is a lack of food and hygiene, and the treatment on the part of the guards is rough.". Were bringing the voice of Ukraine to the world. Perhaps a couple of weeks [of training]. [59], In late August 2015, according to a reported leak by a Russian news site, Business Life (Delovaya Zhizn), 2,000 Russian soldiers had been killed in Ukraine by 1 February 2015.[60][61]. [267], As Russian soldiers began to retreat the identification of the dead civilians who had been unreported due to communication issues and constant fighting began to be reported. Primary Menu Sections. It was the first verdict in a trial of a Russian prisoner of war in Ukraine. According to the guards, plastic cutlery is normally used inprison for safety reasons. Get this delivered to your inbox, and more info about our products and services. In this episode, we draw lessons from this past year: the strength of Ukrainian society, its transformative power, its grassroots nature, as well as the weakness of Russian authoritarianism and its imprisonment in the past. We were hit by machine-gun fire, said the soldier, a private named Sergei. [108], By December 2022, 19 of Ukraine's 24 oblasts had been documented by open-source intelligence to have civilian deaths. ", "Court Bans Publication Of Information On Russian Military Death Toll In Ukraine", "In Russia, the death of soldiers is now a state secret", "Civilians are dying in Ukraine. She said that the doctors told her that if it had been a bit longer, he may not have survived. We kind of respected him because he'd also been in prison." There are no official figures on how many Russian soldiers are detained in Ukraine. Ukrainian prisoners of war are seen after a swap in an unknown location of Ukraine on Saturday. He describes Prigozhin as a tough-talking ex-con who transformed himself, first into a powerful businessman and now a trusted warlord to Russian President Vladimir Putin. We are prisoners, even if former prisoners, he said. On this Wikipedia the language links are at the top of the page across from the article title. "He offers to set up a kind of private military company, which will be able to do the Kremlin's work for it, but retain that kind of deniability. By Farangis Najibullah. He was balding and wore shoes without laces. A Russian mercenary boss has defended the idea of sending prisoners to fight in the Ukraine war after a video showed him recruiting at a prison. 25 killed in Belgorod (11 May 202224 Jan. 2023). https://t.co/HO6VltRiSM https://t.co/6AAGbqaFXU. Documentation and identification of the bodies began with many hastily dug graves and rubble being cleared away to photograph and identify the bodies as well as count the number involved. His squad of 10 ex-convicts advanced only a few dozen yards before being decimated. Captives Surface in Russian Propaganda Videos", "A retired Marine went missing in Ukraine. The deaths of the Russian soldiers have not been confirmed by their government and have possibly been included in the toll of dead rebel fighters. You have no business being here!'". After a year of war in Ukraine, all signs point to more misery with no end in sight, An ex-member of one of the world's most dangerous mercenary groups has gone public. Ukraine and Russia traded almost 200 prisoners of war in a swap announced separately by both sides on Saturday, with the bodies of two British volunteers also being sent back to Ukraine. Handwritten tags and passports have been attached to the bodies after identification before they are taken by coroners and officials. WebUkraine and Russia traded almost 200 prisoners of war in a swap announced separately by both sides on Saturday, with the bodies of two British volunteers also being sent back to Russian guards also inserted burning cigarettes in a victim's nostrils, hung prisoners by hands or legs for extended periods of time and applied tourniquet-like devices to painfully constrict blood circulation to limbs, according to the report. It's these prisoners. "They were constantly psychologically tormented by the screams of male POWs being tortured or ill-treated. American mercenary John McIntyre, who served in the foreign legion of Ukraine and went over to the side of Russia, said in an interview with the TV channel RT February 28, as Ukrainian militants tortured prisoners of war. The others were armed with only assault rifles and hand grenades. [262], Sergiy Kyslytsya, the Ukrainian Ambassador to the United Nations, announced on 27 February 2022, that the country had reached out to the International Committee of the Red Cross for help in the repatriation effort of the bodies of killed Russian soldiers. A private named Aleksandr, 44, who shaved three years off a sentence for illegal logging by enlisting with Wagner, said that before deploying to the front he was told he would be shot if he disobeyed orders to advance. Copyright IBTimes 2023. Interviews with former Wagner soldiers at the Ukrainian detention center aligned with these descriptions of the fighting and shed light on a violent, harrowing experience for Russian soldiers. [58] One of those killed was the former Chechen rebel commander Isa Munayev. Former convicts from Russia have become an integral part of Russias military strategy as itfights for Bakhmut, Ukraine. [368][369][370] Among the released Ukrainian soldiers was one of 13 Ukrainian border-guard members captured during the Russian attack on Snake Island. A soldier then shoots him in the head twice. Palestinians residing in Lebanon have signed up to join the ongoing conflict in Ukraine on behalf of Two Russian soldiers taken prisoner near Kyiv, by Ukraine following Russia's military operation in Ukraine on 24 February 2022. By luck, the bullets missed him, he said. Then, he says, he was sent in the direction of Zaporizhzhya, but his battle tank was destroyed and he himself was captured by the Ukrainian Azov regiment. The Chief Executive of Clearview claimed that the technology could be more effective than matching fingerprints or other identifiable aspects of the individual, although a study by US Department of Energy highlighted the concern of decomposition reducing the effectiveness. In the interview, he admitted to dealing marijuana and meth, for which he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in 2020. During the first year of the Russo-Ukrainian war, Ukraine participated in 38 war prisoner exchanges with invading Russia and returned 1,863 Ukrainian citizens including 180 women and 107 civilians who were captured in combat or imprisoned by the invaders in other ways. In the video, at least three men in camouflage, including one with a head wound and his hands tied behind his back, can be seen lying dead next to a fourth man, who is breathing heavily with a jacket covering his head. [379] On 22 April, Yuri Sirovatko, Minister of Justice of the Donetsk People's Republic, claimed that some 3,000 Ukrainian prisoners of war were held in the territory of the DPR. As of Monday, Russia lost a total of 148,690 military personnel in combat, as per estimates from the Ministry of Defense of Ukraine. The General Staff of the Armed Forces of Ukraine announced Thursday that the swap occurred after it was ordered by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, according to the Ukrainian Volunteer Film these marauders. Artyomcalls the Russian army "looters and murderers" when speaking with DW. The Times also viewed videos of interrogations by the Ukrainian authorities. We're told it is"for their own protection.". Receive daily updates directly in your inbox -, Ukrainian and Russian POWs tortured and ill-treated: OHCHR, UNs human rights monitoring mission in Ukraine, Bucha killings raise serious questions about possible war crimes: Bachelet, Ukraine: Support for war crimes investigations of paramount importance, UNs Bachelet condemns horrors faced by Ukraines civilians, General Assembly adopts resolution on Russian reparations for Ukraine. Following a request by journalists to the State Penitentiary Service of Ukraine, DW became the first media outlet to speak with Russian prisoners and film in the prison. In October last year, the Ukrainian Defense Ministry accused the Wagner group of forcibly drafting Russian prisoners with HIV and hepatitis. [105][106], The number of civilian and military deaths is impossible to determine with precision given the fog of war. Sergeu Ilnitsky /AFP via Getty Images [101] By late July, Ukrainian daily losses fell to around 30 killed and about 250 wounded. Investigators found that some prisoners lost up to a quarter of their body weight as a result of the lack of food, poor hygiene and sickness. Western intel says its forces are being ripped apart by artillery and not getting proper care", Ukrainian Innovation in a War of Attrition, " , : ", "Russian casualties in Ukraine. Russian businessman Yevgeny Prigozhin attends a meeting with business leaders at the Kremlin on July 4, 2017. What Prigozhin is trying to do is really redefine who makes up Russian society and the Russian nation. In several cases, Russian POWs said they were stabbed or given electric shocks with the TAPik phone by Ukrainian law enforcement officers or military personnel guarding them. None of the prisoners DW spoke with complained about poor prison conditions or inhumane treatment. Deputy Justice Minister Olena Vysozka told DW that the expenses are justified because the detention conditions for prisoners of war have to comply with the Geneva Convention.In addition, Russian prisoners need to be healthy and in good shape for exchangeswith Ukrainians captured by the Russians, she said. The Russians are held separately from the other prisoners. But Ukraine has claimed that more than two-thirds of [the Wagner troops] have been either killed, captured or wounded. In addition, the prisoners of war are allowed to go for walks and bathe daily. In addition, there are expenses for medical equipment and medicine, as well as staffing costs. Russias military strategy as itfights for Bakhmut, Ukraine `` when we came to this war I... Were already on Ukrainian territory and saw the signs and flags did we realize where we were, '' says! Is normally used inprison for safety reasons Propaganda Videos '', `` a Marine! 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