Russia uses POWs as a political weapon against Kyiv – POLITICO

KYIV — The final time Valentyna Tkachenko, a 35-year-old mom of two from Chernihiv in northern Ukraine, noticed her husband Serhii was simply earlier than Russia invaded her nation.

Serhii, a Nationwide Guard soldier, was captured on February 24 of final yr, the day Moscow launched its all-out invasion of Ukraine. His unit was guarding the Chernobyl nuclear energy plant when it was attacked by the Russians. When the Russian army retreated from Chernobyl and the remainder of the Kyiv area on the finish of March, they took Serhii and 167 different POWs with them.

Since then, the wives of the captured troopers have solely heard from them as soon as — a brief handwritten observe: “I’m alive, all the things is OK,” despatched greater than six months after they have been taken prisoner.

Like 1000’s of different family members of Ukrainian POWs, Tkachenko has contacted Ukrainian authorities and the Worldwide Committee of Crimson Cross (ICRC) and had written 4 letters, however heard nothing again till November 29. That is the day she acquired a video name on the Viber messaging app.

“It was Serhii. We talked just for three minutes. I used to be not allowed to ask him questions. As quickly as I attempted, he shook his head and simply stated no. As an alternative, he stored saying: ‘Valya, go make issues exhausting for Kyiv. Kyiv doesn’t wish to take us again,’” Tkachenko recalled. “Then he stated he was sorry and ended the decision, promising to name me again if he ever has an opportunity.”

Tkachenko did not go off to reveal in opposition to the federal government, though household protests have taken place in Kyiv and different Ukrainian cities.

Petro Yatsenko, spokesperson for Ukraine’s coordinating workers on the therapy of prisoners of battle, instructed POLITICO that different households have acquired comparable calls from troopers being held by the Russians.

“An individual has not heard from a relative for greater than a yr, and right here he calls and says that he’s alive. Russians are able to alternate him, however Ukraine does nothing. Lately these calls grew to become large. So, we understood that this can be a marketing campaign to trigger mistrust within the authorities,” Yatsenko stated.

It is a stark change in coverage from the primary yr of the battle, when the 2 sides frequently exchanged prisoners. In all, 2,598 individuals have returned from Russian captivity throughout 48 swaps, in response to the Ukrainian army. Nevertheless, the final main alternate was on August 7.

“It has actually slowed down because of causes from the Russian Federation, however there are very particular causes for this,” Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy instructed a information convention in Kyiv this week.

Enjoying politics with POWs

The Russian refusal to alternate POWs seems geared toward inflaming tensions in Ukrainian society, the place dissatisfaction with Zelenskyy is rising within the wake of this yr’s disappointing counteroffensive, and the temper is popping grim as essential assist for Ukraine stalls within the U.S. Senate and Hungary blocks the EU’s efforts to spice up civilian and army assist for Kyiv.

Tkachenko thinks her household, in addition to different prisoners of battle, have turn into instruments in a political sport.

“They began so properly, exchanging so many. However then out of the blue all of it stopped. I feel Russians wish to discredit our authorities. Individuals are exhausted, and POWs’ family members are dropping their mood. They wish to trigger havoc,” Tkachenko stated bitterly.

A lot of the Ukrainian POWs have been captured following the bloody siege of Mariupol, a coastal metropolis the place Ukrainian troops held out for 3 months of ferocious assaults earlier than surrendering the Azovstal Iron and Metal Works in Could 2022.

Anastasiia Bugera, 22, from the Kharkiv area in japanese Ukraine, has not spoken to her boyfriend, 24-year-old Kostyantyn Ivanov, since March 2022. She was in Russian-occupied Izyum when Ivanov was ordered to give up alongside a number of thousand different Azovstal defenders.

“I managed to name his mom from our neighbor’s outside rest room at some point. She instructed me he was making an attempt to name me and failed. I cried so exhausting standing in that rest room,” Bugera stated. The bathroom was the one place she might get a connection because the Russians have been making an attempt to dam cellular alerts. Izyum was liberated by the Ukrainians in September 2022.

“Now we have not had the chance to even say hey to one another. They have been promised to be in captivity just for three to 4 months. However Russia lied,” Bugera stated.

Ukraine has managed to alternate only some dozen Azovstal defenders, together with the commanders of the Azov Regiment, however 1000’s of standard troops, police and border guards captured in Mariupol are nonetheless being held. In response to the Azovstal households’ affiliation, Russia doesn’t wish to alternate them. As an alternative, households sometimes see them on movies from Russian courts, malnourished, exhausted, and on trial accused of battle crimes. Russia continues to dam any direct communication with them.

Life in jail

As of at present, Russia holds greater than 3,000 Ukrainian troopers and a few 28,000 civilians, the Ukrainian ombudsman’s workplace and reintegration ministry stated. Nevertheless, the actual quantity could also be even increased.

“For instance, a few of those that are in captivity haven’t been confirmed but. These individuals are nonetheless thought-about ‘lacking’ though now we have info they could be in captivity,” Yatsenko stated.

The Ukrainians haven’t stated what number of Russians they maintain, however they’ve so many that they are constructing a second POW camp to carry them. Russians are additionally being held in a particular facility in western Ukraine and housed in cells in pretrial detention facilities.

“I’d say in the course of the counteroffensive Ukraine managed to extend the POWs alternate fund that was already huge due to the stalled exchanges,” Yatsenko stated. “However we’re able to accommodate all Russian troops preventing in Ukraine, in case they determine to give up.”

Ukraine says it’s treating its POWs in response to worldwide guidelines, however accuses Russia of mistreating its prisoners.

“Greater than 90 p.c of prisoners of battle whom we interview after their return say that they have been subjected to torture, deprivation of ample vitamin and sleep,” Yatsenko stated. “Individuals are being pressured to burn out tattoos or to eat solely Russian propaganda. They aren’t allowed to speak with family members.”

Russia insists it’s treating its POWs properly.

Russian Commissioner for Human Rights Tatiana Moskalkova on November 30 visited 119 Ukrainian POWs and stated they have been being held in circumstances that correspond to worldwide requirements.  

“A lot of them reported that they have been allowed to name their family members by telephone by the competent Russian authorities,” Moskalkova stated in a press release revealed a day after Tkachenko acquired the video name from her husband.

Moskalkova stated that preparations are being made together with her Ukrainian counterpart to permit for mutual visits.

The Worldwide Committee of the Crimson Cross visits POWs on each side of the entrance — thus far seeing 2,300 of them — however Russia hasn’t totally opened its services to exterior inspection and the ICRC is institutionally restricted in its capacity to criticize international locations out of concern that its entry might be reduce off.

“We’re painfully conscious that there are POWs that we nonetheless haven’t visited, and this is the reason we’re continually working in direction of bettering our entry to the locations the place they’re held. Now we have additionally delivered greater than 3,800 private messages between POWs and their family members, on prime of facilitating the exchanges of over 9,300 letters from and to prisoners of battle,” stated Achille Després, the ICRC spokesperson in Ukraine.

He refused to disclose any details about the particular circumstances by which POWs are held.

“Our objective is to work straight with the detaining authorities, to affect in direction of the concrete enchancment of the interment circumstances and remind the related states of their authorized obligations, notably that POWs should always be handled humanely and their rights upheld, in addition to their integrity, dignity and privateness revered,” he stated.

Hoping for launch

With huge prisoner exchanges frozen, the one method captured troopers could make it again to their very own aspect is in casual battlefield swaps between commanders.

“Sadly, such sporadic exchanges can not substitute those on the state stage,” Yatsenko stated.

In his information convention, Zelenskyy stated he hopes to see a change of coverage that may permit for a resumption of prisoner exchanges.

“We are actually working to carry again a reasonably first rate variety of our guys. God prepared, we are going to succeed,” he stated.

Ukraine hopes to jar the Kremlin into restarting swaps because of the rising variety of Russian POWs it is holding.

“As quickly as we accumulate, should you’ll forgive me the language, the suitable stockpile of enemy sources, we alternate them for our Ukrainian defenders … I actually hope that our pathway will quickly be activated,” Zelenskyy stated.