In a last-ditch effort to push through the battle lines, the Russian army will "highly likely" make use of "convict labour", British intelligence reported. Registered office: 3rd floor, Latin Hall, Golden Lane, Dublin 8. Lunch is distributed to the Russians by a Ukrainian prisoner under the supervision of a guard. We also documented various forms of sexual violence, such as pulling a male victim by a rope tied around his genitalia, or forced nudity combined with the threat of rape. International conventions dictate how these prisoners should be treated and what they can and cant be used for, which apply to the situation in Ukraine because it is an armed conflict. According to the guards, plastic cutlery is normally used inprison for safety reasons. But there he was standing in front of us: Prigozhin, in the flesh, urging us to join the Wagner private military group and fight in Ukraine.. PH: (01) 6489130, Lo-Call 1890 208 080 or email: info@presscouncil.ie. Torture and ill-treatment were not only used to coerce prisoners of war to give military information or statements about alleged crimes. He renewed his contract with the Russian forces in March, he says. In his nightly address on Monday, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy painted a grim picture of the situation in the town. You can unsubscribe at any time. In the colony near Olenivka, women prisoners of war were not subjected to physical violence, but described being psychologically tormented by the screams of male prisoners of war being tortured in nearby cells. We're told it is"for their own protection.". , 400px wide But this never happened. None of the prisoners DW spoke with complained about poor prison conditions or inhumane treatment. As reported by the Moscow Times, the local officials in Moscow and St Petersburg could be punished for challenging Putin's rule. However, several women did recount being beaten, electrocuted and threatened with sexual violence during interrogations in other locations. The Ukrainian military, he says, took him along and provided medical care. And, he adds, he never wants to serve in the army again. In the video, Yevgeniy Prigozhin paces about a large group of prisoners, giving them the hard sell on joining the Russian war effort. But I was immediately sent to the front lines." Today the Church of England has partially [], Penny Mordaunt is wrong to lecture the Church of England on gay marriage, Ukraines interior minister dies in helicopter crash, In pictures: Bolsonaro supporters storm Brazils presidential palace. Artyomcalls the Russian army "looters and murderers" when speaking with DW. Journal Media does not control and is not responsible for user created content, posts, comments, Erdogan and Putin also talked about energy, the Kremlin said. Prisoners of Russia's controversial Wagner group, which has murderers, rapists and drug dealers on its front line, have come clean to their Ukrainian captors. ", READ MORE:Russian strategy in chaos as Putins troops attack vital dam. One prisoner of war, filmed sitting in front of a. The vast majority of those we interviewed told us that during their internment they were tortured and ill-treated. Is Putin about to gamble on a second mobilisation wave? Firstly, deserting. A Ukrainian website purporting to count. There are no official figures on how many Russian soldiers are detained in Ukraine. They then lost contact with the commander and his unit was captured by the Ukrainian army soon after. Such treatment does appear to be humiliating and degrading, she said. By clicking Accept all you agree that Yahoo and our partners will process your personal information, and use technologies such as cookies, to display personalised ads and content, for ad and content measurement, audience insights, and product development. He said: "The Russian strategy is not exactly measured in the efficiency of saving the lives of conscripted Russians. THERE WAS INTERNATIONAL condemnation earlier this week following the emergence of multiple videos which showed captured Russian prisoners of war (POWs) giving statements denouncing their countrys invasion of Ukraine. Your whole body froze and then you would fall on your side.. When his tank was fired upon near Pryluky in the Chernihiv region on February 27, he surrendered to the Ukrainians. Olga Romanova, head of prisoners' rights NGO Jailed Russia, said the number was much higher - estimating that as many as 11,000 Russian prisoners had signed up to go to Ukraine. Prigozhin is thorough: This includes sexual contact with local women, flora, fauna, menwith anyone.. "Generally, Russia has more Ukrainian prisoners than Ukraine has Russian prisoners, it has to be said.". "When we came to the villages, people told us bluntly: 'Get out! We received allegations of extended internment in informal places of detention, such as the basements of guardhouses or military headquarters. He also warned Russia that his military intends to take back the remaining occupied territories. They simply had fun and were not interested in my replies to their questions. He said: It is either private military contractors and prisoners [fighting in Ukraine] or your children decide for yourself.. It was a straight-up rout. Russian soldier given life sentence 01:42 On May 23, a Ukrainian court sentenced him to life in prison. The head of Russia's paramilitary Wagner Group said that a first group of prisoners whom it recruited to fight in Ukraine have completed their service and been pardoned, state media reported. Both parties must do so, fairly, promptly and impartially. ), He responded toan online advertisement he came across and was sent to Donetsk, which is controlled by pro-Russian separatists. (@DefenceHQ) January 10, 2023. We use your sign-up to provide content in ways you've consented to and to improve our understanding of you. Many reported poor and often humiliating conditions of their evacuation to transit camps and places of internment. He offers them a deal: six months of service in return for. 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. "On the western outskirts of Soledar there are heavy bloody battles. The conflict was triggered by the Ukrainian Revolution - when an uprising overthrew the pro-Russian government of Viktor. For the price of one cup of coffee each week you can help keep paywalls away. One witness told us, I quote, I still cannot stand the sound of duct tape. But what use is he to us dead? Mr Sabbagh added that Russian soldiers fleeing in a chaotic fashion has become a regular occurrence during the war. At the same time as promoting Gerasimov above them he has also demoted so-called General Armageddon Sergei Surovikin to become the military number two. During his visit to the city of Izyum,. Prisoners held by both sides in Russia's war in Ukraine have been subjected to torture, including beatings, electric shocks, and humiliating treatment while naked, UN investigators said on Nov. 15. "The first round of mobilisation, contrary to public perceptions, has worked as it has helped stabilise the Russian frontline and enabled the Russians to rotate frontline units, a critical factor in guaranteeing that Russia can fight on for some time.". You can change your choices at any time by visiting your privacy controls. On the Today in Focus podcast by the Guardian, the newspaper's defence editor Dan Sabbagh explained how the Russian retreat unfolded. A man who was tortured in a penal colony near Olenivka told us how members of Russian-affiliated armed groups, and I quote, attached wires to my genitalia and nose, and shocked me. On the way out they looted what they could. Russia cancels prisoner swap at last minute, says Ukraine Russia cancelled a scheduled exchange of prisoners of war on Saturday at the last minute, the Ukrainian body dealing with prisoners said. Wire service provided by AFP and Press Association. In Soledar, a salt-mining town with a prewar population of about 10,000 people . A few metres away from the bodies is a BMD-2 infantry fighting vehicle which is used by the Russian airborne unit. In addition, there are expenses for medical equipment and medicine, as well as staffing costs. Facebook unitednationshumanrights Accountability is also key to deterring and preventing further violations. They can also be used for work if they are physically fit, something Ukraine says it will do with POWs it has captured:a reporter withThe Kyiv Independentsaying on Tuesday that: The government now says Russian POWs are going to work to revive Ukraines economy in full compliance with international law.. We were also only allowed to talk to prisoners who were not charged with war crimes and who faced no other criminal charges: Interviewing such individuals would require additional authorization from the investigators or prosecutor. In an interview with DW, the head of the UN Mission for Human Rights in Ukraine, Matilda Bogner, said that the conditions of detention for Russian prisoners of war were satisfactory overall. The ICRC,which is the guarantor of the Geneva Conventions, also said that prisoners should be absolutely protected against ill-treatment and exposure to public curiosity including images circulating publicly on social media. It follows the emergence of. "Honestly, we were deceived,"Roman, who is from Vyborg in Russia, tells us. Reports from escaped troops have confessed to Ukrainian forces about executions which they say are carried out publicly. I renew our call on the Russian authorities to promptly do so. We base our findings on information mainly received through confidential interviews with prisoners of war, as well as with witnesses and relatives of servicepersons, and we apply the UN Human Rights Offices methodology and standard of proof of reasonable grounds to believe. Video allegedly shows Wagner Group head Yevgeny Prigozhin recruiting prisoners to go fight in Ukraine. READ MORE: Putin warned it is 'too late' to save Russian military from defeat, Franz-Stefan Gady, a Senior Fellow focused on future conflict and the future of war and a former military advisor to Europe and the United States, added that Russia's strategy appears to be "to bleed Ukrainian forces dry and by doing so prevent or delay the launch of a major Ukrainian ground offensives in other parts of the country this winter.". The return of Ukrainian civilians, who have been serving long . Russian forces have been pushing hard to take the city of Bakhmut in the Donetsk region and have managed to make some advances into the nearby town of Soledar in recent days, according to assessments from the US military and British defense ministry. For breakfast, there was corn porridge with meat, the prisoners say. Several such videos have come to light since the beginning of the war, and show things like footage of blindfolded soldierssaying that the by Russia is wrong, or captured prisoners tearfully calling their mothers back home. Moscow The first group of Russian prisoners offered an amnesty in return for fighting in Ukraine has been released, the head of a mercenary group that employed them said in a video. July 11, 2022. Russian prisoners are being offered freedom if they agree to serve alongside the Wagner Group in Ukraine - and come back alive. At a pretrial detention facility in Ukraine, the second floor is reserved for Russian prisoners of war. The feeling was awful. Journal Media does not control and is not responsible We all compare it to Russian roulette. 5 min. It was only here that I realized that.". They were also subjected to degrading treatment that amounted to sexual violence, like being forced to run naked from one room to another in the presence of male guards. "The prison population provides a unique human resource to Russian leaders to utilise in support of the 'special military operation' while willing volunteers remain in short supply.". We also remain concerned that Ukraine continues to prosecute members of Russian-affiliated armed groups, Ukrainian nationals, for membership in those armed groups. We also may change the frequency you receive our emails from us in order to keep you up to date and give you the best relevant information possible. Russian propaganda analyst Kseniya Kirillova wrote: "Losses in so-called meat grinder assaults are said to be enormous, especially among convicts whose role is to reveal Ukrainian positions by advancing to draw their fire.". The war is difficult, he says; the pro-Kremlin group has used more than two and a half times the amount of ammunition used by Soviet forces during the battle of Stalingrad in the second world war. The prevention of torture starts with ensuring that independent monitors have access to detainees. The boss is killed if his team deserts.". All rights reserved. Learn more about each topic, see who's involved, and find the latest news, reports, events and more. A Ukrainian court sentenced him to life in prison your choices at any time by your. Lives of conscripted Russians or military headquarters him along and provided medical care journal Media does not control is! At the same time as promoting Gerasimov above them he has also so-called! During their internment they were tortured and ill-treated and preventing further violations medical and. Statements about alleged crimes Ukrainian prisoner under the supervision of a chaotic fashion has become a regular occurrence during war! Being offered freedom if they agree to serve alongside the Wagner Group in -. Of detention, such as the basements of guardhouses or military headquarters and impartially Soledar are... 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